College Volleyball
Loyola College 3, Rider University 0
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Match
LAWRENCEVILLE?Despite 13 digs each from junior Lacey Johnson (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) and sophomore Amy Jeary (Depew, N.Y./St. Mary's), the Broncs concluded the 2007 season with a loss to the Greyhounds in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match Saturday afternoon. “The match kind of matched the dreary weather for both sides,” said head coach Emily Ahlquist. “It seemed that neither team could find any type of momentum.”
Loyola (21-11, 12-5 MAAC) defeated Rider (2-26, 0-18 MAAC) 30-25, 30-23, 30-21.
“We were looking to pull out a win to end the season,” said Johnson. “We seemed to make some mental errors and didn't really play to our full potential.”
Also for the Broncs, freshman Elyse Grassmuck (Seguin, Texas/La Vernia) had 29 assists. The match was the final one in the career of senior Katrina Stehle (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) who compiled eight digs and four kills. Stehle was honored as part of senior day prior to the match.
“We are going to miss Katrina,” said Ahlquist. “She is the kind of player that you can put in a variety of situations and not have to worry about it. She is one of those quiet leaders and she leads by example with her work ethic. We will miss that dearly.”
“I was excited,” Stehle said about the match and senior day. “If we could have come out a little bit stronger, we could have carried it through but we made some mental errors and the little things broke down.”
“Uncharacteristically, we missed five serves in game one,” said Ahlquist. “That kind of set the tone for how we played.” Rider had nine service errors in the match.
Loyola hit .214 and had 11 blocks on the day.
“We had seven freshmen and five sophomores and this was really a rebuilding learning year,” said Ahlquist about the season. “Obviously we are looking to bigger and better results in the future. We could have easily had eight to 10 wins and we need to build on the knowledge that we played better than our record will indicate. If you look at the past, we've always bounced back after a year like this and with the exception of Katrina we have everyone back and that's a positive that we can build on.”
“We are disappointed,” said Johnson. “We do have a good team with some good all around players and we are better than our record would indicate so there is some frustration there. We haven't been able to show the true team that we are. We are just going to work hard in the off-season and hopefully we will turn it around next year.”
“I've had a great four seasons,” Stehle added. “I got to go to the MAAC championships my freshmen season. I don't regret any moments whatsoever. The things that you go through make you grow as a team and as an individual.”
“There is some disappointment because you hear from so many people who just look at the record and say ?tough year',” Stehle added. “But those who have come to our matches and have seen us play and the effort that we have put in know we are better than history will say we were. And you never want to make excuses but there were so many matches that could have gone our way save for a few plays here and there. The way we play is different than our record shows. With all of the players back, I am hoping that they will use that experience and rebound and have a season like I did my freshman year.”
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