College Volleyball - Temple Invitational / Grassmuck All-Tournament
Youngstown State 3, Rider University 0
La Salle University 3, Rider University 1PHILADELPHIA, Pa.?Despite a 'double-double' from junior Lacey Johnson, the Broncs were swept on the final day of the Temple Invitational Saturday at McGonigle Hall in Philadelphia. “We had some positives to take out of the weekend,” said head coach Emily Ahlquist. “The freshmen played well and gained some great match experiences and we know once we get healthy, we'll be in any match we play.”
Rider (0-4) lost a heart breaker to Youngstown State (3-0) 31-29, 30-17, 30-28 and La Salle (1-2) defeated the Broncs 26-30, 30-24, 30-21, 30-20 in the second match.
“We battled against a huge Youngstown State team,” said Ahlquist. “With all of the injuries that we have, by the time the La Salle match was over, we didn't have much left in the tank.”
In the opener Bronc freshman Elyse Grassmuck (Seguin, Texas/La Vernia) had 12 digs, six kills and five assists with junior Lacey Johnson (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) leading both teams with 10 kills.
Grassmuck had 43 assists, 22 kills, 34 digs and five blocks in the four matches and was named to the all-tournament team.
Johnson had her 21st career ?double-double' against the Explorers with 17 digs and 16 kills.
“The matches were ok,” said Grassmuck who is majoring in International Business at Rider. “I thought we ran out of energy in the second match against La Salle but the first match, we came out strong and with a lot of intensity.”
“Elyse set and hit for us,” said Ahlquist. “She did whatever we needed. She is not a typical freshman. She is very vocal and takes charge and by playing multiple positions for us, she is giving us the depth we need to get through the injuries.”
Freshman Amanda Piccolini (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) added 42 assists for Rider on Saturday with sophomore Amy Jeary (Depew, N.Y./St. Mary's) compiling 34 digs in the two matches.
Against Youngstown State, in game one, the Broncs were down 25-20 before a 7-3 run (two kills by Johnson) made the score 28-27 Youngstown State. Rider tied the match at 29 before making two attack errors giving the Penguins the win.
In game three, Rider jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before YSU rallied to tie the match at five. The Pengiuns led by eight (25-17) before Rider went on a 10-3 run to tie the match at 28. A service error and attack error allowed the Penguins to escape and clinch the match.
“I thought the tournament was a good learning experience,” Grassmuck added. “We got used to each other more by playing together and those experiences will help us as a team in our future matches. A couple of the losses were frustrating but we'll overcome that and use the experiences to make ourselves better.”
“We are looking for everyone to step up this coming week,” Ahlquist added. “As we heal and get back to 100 percent, we will be able to work on more things and become more of a cohesive unit.”
Rider travels back to Philadelphia to face La Salle on Wednesday night.
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