NASHUA, N.H. - The third-seeded Simmons College women's volleyball team lost to host number two seed Rivier University, 3-1 (25-17, 25-12, 24-26, 25-13) this evening in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals at Muldoon Gymnasium in Nashua, N.H. The Sharks fall to 12-15 on the season and await to see if they will earn a bid to the Eastern College Athletic Conference New England Tournament.

The Raiders improve to 27-6 and will host fourth-seeded Johnson & Wales University in the GNAC Championship on November 8 at 1:00 p.m. at Muldoon. JWU defeated top-seeded Emmanuel College, 3-1, to advance to the title match.

First year outside hitter Amber Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev.) led Simmons with a career-high 10 kills on a stellar .333 hitting percentage, while junior right side hitter Nicole Alberghini (Northborough, Mass.) also spiked for 10 kills behind a .318 hitting mark, while adding a pair of digs. Sophomore setter Andalyn Duke (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) set for 30 assists to pace the offense and picked up five digs to go with a kill. Sophomore libero Alex Itasaka (Bradford, Mass.) picked up a match-high 20 digs and fired an ace, while junior defensive specialist Chanel Thomas (Phoenix, Ariz.) picked up 13 digs and served up an ace.

Rivier was led by sophomores Dana Mott (Medway, Mass.), Lauren Silverman (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Molly McCormack (Ballston Lake, N.Y.). All three reached double-digit kills as Mott led the way with 16. Silverman totaled 15 kills and a .583 hitting percentage with McCormack chipping in 11 kills and 12 digs. Junior Emily O'Reilly (San Francisco, Calif.) dished out 43 assists in the four-set win, while classmate Lyndsey Sweeney (Coventry, R.I.) collected eight digs and five service aces. Silverman was also a force along the net with eight total blocks, four of the solo variety.