NASHUA, N.H. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's volleyball team made history, taking on host Rivier University for the first-ever match in school history. The Raiders won the final two sets, after the Lyons knotted the match at one set apiece, to come away with a 3-1 (25-13, 24-26, 25-13, 25-20) victory this morning at the Muldoon Center in Nashua, N.H.

Wheaton dips to 0-1 on the season, while Rivier improves to 3-4.

Sophomore right side hitter Jack Kenyon (Westerly, R.I.) recorded the first kill in program history, while first year libero Sam Smith (Alameda, Calif.) fired the first-ever ace for the Lyons.

Wheaton hit .113 for the match and hit .200 or better in the second and third frames. The Raiders opened the match with a proficient .429 hitting mark and hit .500 in the third set as part of a .290 hitting rate for the contest.

Kenyon led the Lyons with a match-high 14 kills, four digs and three block assists, while first year outside hitter R. Bennett Chiappetta (Middlefield, Conn.) put down nine kills on a .316 hitting mark to go with three digs and a pair of blocks. First year outside hitter Masiah Prak (Coventry, R.I.) contributed with seven kills, two digs and a block and hit .250 for the match. First year setter Jacob Hoy (Essex Junction, Vt.) directed the offense with 28 assists in addition to firing a pair of aces, picking up six digs and assisting on a pair of blocks. 

Sophomore setter Cade Barron (Tewksbury, Mass.) and sophomore outside hitter James Levesque (Methuen, Mass.) each swung for 11 kills to lead Rivier. Barron hit a formidable .556 and added four aces, two digs and a pair of block assists, while Levesque registered a pair of blocks and hit .333. Junior setter Justin Barish (Melville, N.Y.) recorded 21 assists, three digs and a block assist. 

Wheaton erased a 1-0 deficit with a second-set triumph to even the match at 1-1. The Lyons won four of the first five points and took a 4-1 lead following an ace from Hoy. The Raiders matched the effort with a 4-1 burst, including a kill from senior middle blocker Matthew McCloskey (Salem, N.H.) to even the count at 5-5. The teams remained deadlocked at 11-11, before McCloskey capped a stretch of three straight points to give the home team a 14-11 lead. Wheaton closed within 17-16, but Rivier scored the next three points to take its largest lead of the frame. Barish found the floor for a kill to maintain the Raiders' margin at 22-18, before the Lyons came alive with a 6-1 blitz, capped by a kill from Kenyon to give them set point at 24-23. Sophomore outside hitter Cody Fitzpatrick (Lowell, Mass.) put down a kill for Rivier to even the frame at 24-24. Kenyon and Prak each swung for kills to give Wheaton the first set win in program history at 26-24.

The Raiders re-grouped to take the third set, 25-13, and a 2-1 match lead. Barron put down four kills to fuel an 8-2 run to open the frame for Rivier. Chiappetta swung for a kill to keep the Lyons within 14-8, but the Raiders closed out the set with an 11-5 stretch, capped by an ace from first year setter Kenji Clark (Culver City, Calif.).

Wheaton opened the fourth set with a 7-1 lead after a kill from Chiappetta. Rivier answered the opening run with a 9-2 stretch, paced by a pair of kills each from Levesque and Barron, to take a 10-9 edge. The Lyons scored five of the next seven points to take a 14-12 margin and later increased their lead to 17-14 with the hope of pulling even in the match. The Raiders ripped off the next four points to take the lead for good at 18-17. Prak put down a kill to level the score at 18-18 for Wheaton, but Rivier closed out the set and the match with a 7-2 run, punctuated by a kill from McCloskey to end the match.

The Raiders opened the match with the first five points of the opening set. The Lyons scored the first point in program history on a Rivier service error to make it 5-1. The Raiders expanded their lead to 10-2, following a pair of kills from Levesque. Kenyon put away the first kill in school history to cut the deficit to 10-3, but Barron fired an ace to give Rivier a double-digit advantage at 13-3. Prak swung for a kill and Smith recorded the first ace for Wheaton to pull the visitors to within 13-5. First year middle blocker Landon Hanscom (New Haven, Conn.) kept the Lyons within 15-7 with an ace, before the Raiders scored four unanswered points to take a 19-7 lead. Wheaton scored five of the next six points to pull within 20-12 after another ace from Hanscom. Rivier tallied five of the final six points to close out the first set.

The Lyons return to the court to take on Russell Sage College at 1:00 p.m., while the Raiders face the same Sage team at 3:00 p.m. as part of the tri-match.