BRISTOL, R.I. – The RWU Volleyball team improved to 8-1 after posting a perfect 3-0 record Saturday to capture its second-straight RWU Invitational Tournament Championship. Senior Jill Hurd (Sunapee, N.H.) earned Tournament MVP and senior Rebekah Dion (Old Saybrook, Conn.) earned All-Tournament Team as RWU defeated Rivier College, 3-2, NYU-Polytechnic, 3-0, and the University of New England, 3-0.

Rivier College posted a second-place finish with its only loss coming to RWU in the first match of the day. The two teams battled in a five-set affair, beginning with a 25-21 win for the visiting Raiders. The Hawks bounced back to win the next two sets decisively, 25-17 and 25-13. The see-saw battled continued with Rivier taking the fourth set 25-20. The fifth set saw the Raiders jump out to a 3-0 lead and they held the lead until RWU tied the set at 9-9 in the midst of a three-point serving run by junior Marilu Gonzalez-Yanez. The teams moved to 13-13 before the Hawks took the last two points for the victory.

Rivier sophomore Kenna Finlayson (Derry, N.H.) led all players with 20 kills in the match, while Dion led the Hawks with 12. RWU freshman Krystie Luczynski (Kensington, Conn.) also posted double-digit kills with 10 on 24 swings for a .417 hitting percentage. Hurd posted five service aces and 17 digs while suffering just one reception error on 21 attempts.

RWU faced 2009 NCAA Tournament participant NYU-Polytechnic in the second match of the day and held the Fighting Blue Jays to a .085 hitting percentage in the three sets. RWU's offense finished the match at .298, taking three-straight sets, 25-18, 25-16, 25-16.

Dion again posted 12 kills with just three errors on 19 swings, while Luczynski notched nine kills on 15 swings. Junior outside hitter Marybeth Torpey recorded a .300 hitting percentage with four kills and just one error on 10 attempts. Sophomore Emily Lebowitz (Coventry, Conn.) led all players with 30 assists while senior Brittney Sullivan (Nashua, N.H.) led all players with 13 digs. NYU-Poly was led by All-Tournament Team member Meredith Shipman (Sugarland, Texas) who notched six kills on 17 attempts.

In the day's final match, RWU met fellow Commonwealth Coast Conference member UNE and held the Nor'Easters under 20 in each of the three sets, winning 25-18, 25-19 and 25-16.

The Hawks posted 40 kills in the match, including 13 by Dion on 21 attempts. Sophomore Kelsey Twarog (Barkhamsted, Conn.) registered seven kills, while Torpey notched six. Two UNE players also tallied six kills – Kristen Edwards (Laconia, N.H.) and Paige Curran (Chelmsford, Mass.). Defensively Nor'Easters freshman Kirsta Adie (Tyngsboro, Mass.) led all players with 16 digs, while Hurd recorded 14 for the Hawks.

RWU looks to extend its four-match winning streak Tuesday when it travels to Connecticut College to face the Camels in a 7 p.m. tilt.

Listed below are the All Tournament Team members and the final results of the 2010 RWU Invitational Tournament.

All-Tournament Team

RWU – Jill Hurd – MVP

RWU – Rebekah Dion

Rivier – Kenna Finlayson

River – Nicole Rodriguez

NYU-Poly – Meredith Shipman

UNE – Paige Curran

Match Scores

RWU defeats Rivier, 3-2: 21-25, 25-17, 25-13, 20-25, 15-13

NYU-Poly defeats UNE, 3-2: 19-25, 10-25, 25-14, 25-11, 15-11

RWU defeats NYU-Poly, 3-0: 25-18, 25-16, 25-16

Rivier defeats UNE, 3-1: 25-20, 25-20, 20-25, 25-16

RWU defeats UNE, 3-0: 25-18, 25-19, 25-16

Rivier defeats NYU-Poly, 3-1: 19-25, 25-22, 25-11, 25-14

Team Records

RWU – 3-0

Rivier – 2-1

NYU-Poly – 1-2

UNE – 0-3