(Nashua, NH) The top seeded Rivier University Raiders advance to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Semi-finals after defeating eighth seeded Lasell College, 3-0 tonight in front of a packed house at the Muldoon Gymnasium.

Rivier took the three sets by scores of 25-13, 25-22 and 25-16.

Junior Nicole Peacock (Warwick, RI) led the charge for the Raiders as she had 14 kills off the bench. Peacock also had an outstanding .632 hitting percentage. Senior Kenna Finlayson (Derry, NH) was just a few behind as she had 10 kills. Freshman Emily O'Reilly (San Francisco, CA) contributed another 30+ assist night with 33 and defensive specialist Jessica Amaral (East Providence, RI) had 15 digs. 

Lasell College (7-26 overall, 6-6 GNAC) was paced by sophomore Alexis Chappell (Springfield, MA) who had 8 kills and 4 digs. Chappell also recorded a .500 hitting percentage on the evening. Freshman Jordan Seid (Rowland Heights, CA) held the defensive end with 9 digs and freshman Alyssa Nahigian (Coventry, RI) recorded 18 assists.  Junior Anna Feeter (Peterborough, NH) also had 4 kills in the loss.

With the victory, the Raiders improve to 23-9 on the season and will host the fifth seeded Simmons College Sharks on Friday night in the GNAC Semi-finals. Simmons edged #4 Emmanuel College 3-1 in their Quarterfinal match. Game time is set for 7pm inside the Muldoon Gymnasium.

The other GNAC Semi-final will consist of #6 Johnson and Wales University – who upset #3 Saint Joseph's College 3-0 – and #2 Emerson College, who swept Mount Ida College 3-0. The GNAC Championship Game will be held at the higher seed on Sunday, November 4, 2012 at 12pm.