College Volleyball
Rider University 3, Providence College 0
Univ. Maryland B/C 3, Rider University 0
Bobcat Invitational / Rider's Hayes/Thompson All-Tournament
HAMDEN, Conn.?Rider sophomore Brittany Hayes (Mitchelleville, Md./Elizabeth Seton) and freshman Katelyn Thompson (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothills) were voted all-tournament honors as Rider split two matches on the final day of the Bobcat Invitational hosted by Quinnipiac University this weekend. “After having 10 days off between matches, it was great to play again,” said head coach Emily Ahlquist.
Hayes averaged 2.78 kills and 0.44 digs while Thompson had 3.33 kills per game as well as 2.22 digs.
Against Providence Saturday afternoon, the Broncs won in three straight sets, 30-28, 30-24, 31-29 before falling in the nightcap to UMBC (7-1) 30-23, 32-30, 30-14.
“We had a good tournament and played well despite being in a 100-degree environment,” said Ahlquist. “We rebounded well because we didn't come out ready to play last night (against Quinnipiac) and it cost us. We made 58 errors out of 90 points and the best thing that we learned this weekend is that you better come out ready to play every match or you won't have a chance to win.”
Against the Friars, Hayes (Mitchelleville, Md./Elizabeth Seton) had a career-high 13 kills with Thompson adding 11 kills and eight digs. Freshman Amanda Piccolini (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) had 21 assists with sophomore Amy Jeary (Depew, N.Y./St. Mary's) compiling 21 digs.
“We improved a lot from our last tournament (at the Temple Invitational),” said Hayes. “We are playing better together and the win against Providence was a confidence boost. We played really hard and fought for the win and to finally get it was very rewarding.”
Freshman Elyse Grassmuck (Seguin, Texas/La Vernia) had 15 assists for Rider (1-7).
“We came ready to play today,” Ahlquist added. “Especially the younger players, they seemed hungry and wanted to atone for how we played on Friday.”
Playing in back to back matches proved to be too much for the Broncs as the Retrievers posted a straight set win. Jeary had 15 digs in the second match.
“The UMBC match, we played well,” Ahlquist said. “We just couldn't sustain our energy for four straight hours.”
“Amy [Jeary] had a good weekend for us,” Ahlquist added “and junior Lindsay Brant (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) also had a solid match against Providence.
The Broncs travel to cross town rival Princeton on September 11 for a non-conference match. “We know what we need to do to be successful,” Hayes added. “We need to continue to work hard and work together and if we do that, we'll continue to pick up some wins.”
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