College Volleyball
Rider University 3, Fairleigh Dickinson University 2
LAWRENCEVILLE?Eight really was enough. Due to a violation of team rules by three players and injuries to another three, the Broncs dressed only eight in the Wednesday night match against Fairleigh Dickinson. The result? Rider rallied to defeat the Knights in five games, breaking a 14 match losing streak.
“It's amazing what players will do when their backs are against the wall,” said head coach Emily Ahlquist. “The players that we had came together and fought and never gave up. They stuck together and worked hard.”
Eight was really enough.
Rider (2-20) defeated FDU (11-12) in five games 21-30, 30-28, 31-29, 24-30, 16-14.
For the Broncs, freshman Elyse Grassmuck (Seguin, Texas/La Vernia) had a ?triple-double' with 31 assists, 13 digs and 13 kills. Grassmuck also added four service aces.
Also for Rider, freshman Katelyn Thompson (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothills) (21 kills, 10 digs), senior Katrina Stehle (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) (16 digs, 15 kills) and freshman Amanda Piccolini (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) (30 assists, 13 digs) each posted a ?double-double'.
Thompson had two kills for the Broncs to end the deciding game 16-14 and give Rider the two-hour marathon win.
“It was nerve racking coming in,” said Grassmuck. “We knew we had to pull together and work with each other and communicate because we had players in positions that they normally don't play. It almost forced us to communicate more than we usually do and that probably won the match for us, that focus and communication. We had true team work and pulled through.”
In the fifth game, Rider held a 10-7 lead before the Knights rallied to take the lead 12-11. Rider tied the match at 12 and the teams traded points tying the game at 14, the seventh and final tie of the fifth game and the 26th tie in the overall match.
“With all of the five-setters we've had, it feels so good to finally win one of them,” Piccolini said. “We let it get a little close but we pulled it out. I'm pretty happy about the match.”
“We had lost four five-set matches this season,” said Ahlquist “and three were in the last two weeks. With all of the five set matches that we've lost, the players out on the floor used those experiences and decided that they weren't going to lose tonight and played that way.”
Rider is now 1-4 in five-set matches this season.
“We knew that if we were going to win, it would have to come from us,” Piccolini added. “We were the only ones on the court and we didn't have any backup so I think it helped us pull together and focus on what we had to do.”
Sophomore Brittany Hayes (Mitchelleville, Md./Elizabeth Seton) added 11 kills and five blocks for the Broncs.
For Fairleigh Dickinson, Ruth Levy (22 assists, 11 digs) and Lauren Boothby (22 kills, 13 digs) each had a ?double-double'. Boothby also added six blocks.
“It feels great to break the losing streak,” Ahlquist added. “It's a good feeling to have going into conference play again this weekend.”
“I happy to get the win,” said Grassmuck. “Niagara has a similar style to FDU so if we play like we did tonight we'll get through. If we bring what we had at the end of the game tonight, we'll be fine. I'm so happy to get the win tonight. It's about time.”
“I'm excited going into the weekend,” said Piccolini. “Now that we finally have another win under our belt, I think it's going to be a pretty good weekend.”
Rider entered the match 27th in the nation with 2.16 service aces per game and stayed on that pace with 10 in the five-game match. Piccolini had three for the Broncs after entering the match 92nd in the nation averaging 0.46 aces per game.
Rider hosts the Purple Eagles of Niagara University in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match on Saturday.
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