NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y.?Forgive the cranberry clad Broncs if their new favorite color is now purple. Trailing two sets to one, the Rider University volleyball team rallied to win 3-2 over the Purple Eagles of Niagara University to break a four match losing streak in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action Saturday. “Niagara seems to bring out the best in us this season,” said head coach Emily Ahlquist. “We played solid defense today.”
The Broncs won 18-25, 25-19, 15-25, 25-22, 15-10, defeating the Purple Eagles for the second time this season. The Broncs defeated Niagara 3-1 on September 28 in Lawrenceville and are now 6-10 all-time against the Purple Eagles.
Rider (9-10, 2-7 MAAC) was led by sophomore Amanda Piccolini (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) who had 44 assists and senior Lindsay Brant (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) who scored her second ?double-double' in a row with 12 digs and 12 kills.
Brant now has five ?double-doubles' on the season.
Also for the Broncs, junior Amy Jeary (Depew, N.Y./St. Mary's) had 16 digs, sophomore Katelyn Thompson (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothills) had 14 kills and junior Brittany Hayes (Mitchellville, Md./Elizabeth Seton) added 12 kills and three blocks.
“Amanda [Piccolini] and Amy [Jeary] played extremely well,” Ahlquist said. “We had a good team effort. We played at a level pace and played our style. We did a good job of not letting their runs affect us and we countered with some rallies of our own. We play at an even keel pace.”
“The last few matches we made a lot of mental errors and a lot of serving errors and we corrected that today,” said Jeary. “It takes a lot to win against Niagara.”
Leading 19-17 in the opening set, Niagara used a 6-1 run to end the set with a seven point margin.
Rider battled back to tie the match at one in the second set with a six point win. Tied at 13, the Broncs used a 4-0 run and ended the set on a 5-2 run.
Set three was all Niagara as the Purple Eagles jumped out to a 9-2 lead. Rider cut the Purple Eagle lead to four (18-14) before Niagara pulled away with a 7-1 run for a 10 point win.
The fourth set, which saw 10 ties and five lead changes, had Rider winning by three to force a fifth and final set. Tied at 17, the Broncs used a 4-0 run and after Niagara cut the lead to one, the Broncs ended the set winning three of the last four points.
A 6-3 start in set five (two kills by Thompson) got the Broncs on the way to clinching the match. Niagara got to within one (10-9) before a 5-1 run gave Rider the match.
“Niagara is good,” Ahlquist added. “They keep coming after you and coming after you.”
This marks Rider's first five-set win of the season in the three matches that have gone the distance.
The Broncs stay in Western, New York to face Canisius at 2:00pm on Sunday in a MAAC match. The Golden Griffins defeated Rider 3-0 on September 27.
“We are really excited about the opportunity to sweep two road matches,” Jeary added. “Things are finally coming together for us.”
And if it means more wins, Rider will probably be o.k. if the favorite color goes from cranberry to purple.
