College Volleyball
Iona College 3, Rider University 2
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Match
LAWRENCEVILLE?Despite ?double-doubles' from seniors Lacey Johnson (Centennial, Colo./Grandview) and Lindsay Brant (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach), the Rider University volleyball team lost a five-set heartbreaker to Iona College on Saturday afternoon. “It was an up and down match,” said head coach Emily Ahlquist. “It was anyone's match at the end.”
The Gaels prevailed in a two-hour marathon 25-27, 25-18, 26-28, 25-17, 15-12. The match saw 31 ties and 15 lead changes.
Johnson notched her 24th career ?double-double' (19 kills and 17 digs) with Brant (21 digs, 12 kills) scoring her third ?double-double' of the season.
“Both Lacey and Lindsay brought consistency and stability to what was turning into a wild match,” Ahlquist said. “They both provided some solid senior leadership.”
Juniors Alex Chapla (Aliquippa, Pa./Center Area) and Brittany Hayes (Mitchellville, Md./Elizabeth Seton) each had six blocks for Rider (8-7, 1-4 MAAC) and the Broncs had 11 team blocks overall.
“A couple of plays here and there and the match turns out differently,” Ahlquist added. “We blocked well and read the Iona attacks well. We were just a play short here and there. We didn't block as well at the end when we really needed it. We've been working on our blocking in practice and it was nice to see that hard work pay off early in the match."
Sophomore Amanda Piccolini (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) compiled 30 assists with junior Amy Jeary (Depew, N.Y./St. Mary's) adding 26 digs for the Broncs.
Iona (10-6, 3-2 MAAC) has defeated Rider in 15 of the 18 matches all-time, winning twice last season by 3-2 scores. Rider last defeated the Gaels in 1999.
Aggressive in their service game, the Broncs had eight service aces but were undone by 12 service errors, something Ahlquist sees as a needed area of improvement. “We have to reduce our mental errors especially from points 20-25,” Ahlquist said. “It takes momentum away when you've made a run and basically gives a point away. We are going to keep working on that area of our game. We are successful when we serve tough and take the opposing team out of their offense.”
In the opening set, which saw 16 ties and three lead changes, the Broncs prevailed by two. Tied at 19, the Broncs used a 4-0 run to take the lead before the Gaels rallied to tie the set at 24. A Brant kill and a Gael attack error clinched the win for Rider 27-25.
The second set was all Iona. After the teams traded the first eight points, Iona jumped out to a five-point lead (11-6). Rider cut the Gael lead to three but could get no closer as a 5-1 run ended the set with Iona winning by seven.
Rider took a two sets to one lead by winning the third set by two. Trailing 19-14, the Broncs went on a 9-3 run, two services aces by Piccolini to take a 23-22 lead. Piccolini finished with three service aces in the match. With the Gaels leading 25-24, back to back kills by Hayes staved off set point and gave the Broncs the lead by one. After Iona tied the set, Johnson followed with a kill and service ace to clinch the set for the Broncs.
Rider is now 10-1 in sets decided by two-points this season.
Iona tied the match at two with an eight point win in the fourth set. Trailing 4-2, Iona used a 6-0 run to take the lead for good. The Broncs cut the Gael lead to four at 19-15 but could not get any closer.
A 4-0 run by Iona broke a 2-2 tie in the fifth and final set. The Gaels maintained the lead with Rider cutting the deficit to two points twice, the last at 14-12 before a Gael kill ended the match.
The Broncs host Siena in a MAAC match on Sunday at 2:00pm in Alumni Gym on the Lawrenceville, New Jersey campus. “We always have exciting matches against Siena,” said Ahlquist. “The two teams play well against each other and I'm looking forward to the match.”
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