Rivier Bests Men’s Volleyball In Five-Set Thriller, 3-2

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's volleyball team lost to Rivier, 3-2, by scores of 16-25, 25-18, 28-30, 25-21, and 13-15 in non-conference action on Thursday night at MacDonald Gymnasium.

Rafa Robert (San Juan, Puerto Rico) notched a career-high 17 kills (tied, .419) and nine digs to highlight the Gulls.

Spencer Capps (Lake Bluff, Ill.) and Ian Smith (Elk Grove, Calif.) also added 13 and 11 putaways, respectively, in the five-set thriller.

Meanwhile, Gabe DeBenedetto (Rockford, Ill.) rounded out the list of highlights with a team-high 41 assists (.394).

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Tonight's match featured 31 ties (sets: 6-4-8-9-4) and nine lead changes (sets: 3-1-2-3-0).
• Endicott erased deficits of 6-0 and 18-10 in set three before the Raiders eventually closed things out via back-to-back kills down the stretch.
• The dramatic third set featured ties of 21-21, 22-22, 23-23, 24-24, 25-25, 26-26, 27-27, and 28-28.
• Vance Mallory (Playa del Ray, Calif.) tied his season-high with nine digs.
• Fourteen of Smith's 29 receptions (.483) led to kills, while 10 of Robert's receptions (.345) turned into putaways.
• Robert had a team-high seven kills in set four (7-2-9, one block assist).

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (5-3) travels to Elms on Wednesday, February 23 at 7 PM. Rivier (3-6) visits Emerson tomorrow at 5 PM. 

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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)