College Volleyball
Iona College 3, Rider University 0
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Match
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.?Despite a ?double-double' from senior Lindsay Brant (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach), the Rider University volleyball team lost a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match at Iona Saturday morning. “If we would have played sets one and two like we played set three, the match would have been a different story,” said head coach Emily Ahlquist. “It was like we weren't totally awake.”
Breakfast at Wimbledon is one thing. Breakfast at New Rochelle just didn't have the same ring to it for Rider. The match start time was moved to 11:00am to accommodate Iona football with the Broncs leaving campus prior to 7:00am.
Rider (9-18, 2-15 MAAC) lost in straight sets 25-16, 25-18, 25-23.
“Iona had to show up early as well,” Ahlquist added. “The time change shouldn't have been a factor. We got here on time and got a solid warm up.”
Brant had 15 kills and 11 digs, hitting .321 for the match.
“Lindsay played very consistent and involved her teammates,” Ahlquist added.
Also for the Broncs, sophomore Elyse Grassmuck (San Antonio, Texas/La Vernia) recorded a ?double-double' of 31 assists and 16 digs.
Tied at four in the opening set, Iona used an 8-0 run to open up an insurmountable lead. The Gaels led by as many as 10 points before clinching the set by nine. Iona hit .412 in the opening set.
Leading 16-15 in the second set, Iona won seven of the next eight points to open up a seven point lead, winning the set by seven. The Gaels out-hit Rider .355 to .111 in the set.
Set three saw 15 ties and seven lead changes before the Gaels prevailed. Rider led 21-20 before a 3-0 Iona run gave the Gaels a two point margin. The teams traded the next four points with Iona prevailing by two to clinch the match.
Overall, the Gaels (18-11) hit .339 on the day.
The Broncs also lost to Iona on October 4 (3-2) in Lawrenceville and the Gaels have won 16 of the 19 matches all-time against Rider. The Broncs last defeated Iona in 1999.
The win allowed the Gaels (10-7 MAAC) to keep pace with Manhattan (10-7 MAAC) and Marist (9-7 MAAC) in the fight for the fourth and final playoff spot. The Jaspers defeated Saint Peter's 3-0 on Saturday with the Red Foxes traveling to Siena later this afternoon. Iona hosts Marist on Sunday with the Jaspers traveling to conference regular season champion Fairfield. Siena hosts the four-team playoffs November 23-24.
Losers of eight straight, Rider concludes the 2008 season with a home MAAC match against Loyola at noon on Sunday.
“The success of a season is measured in improvement,” Ahlquist said. “We drastically improved from last season (two wins) and next season, we'll continue that improvement. Do I wish that a few matches more matches went in our favor? Obviously yes but we know how hard we worked and our goal is to make that effort translate into our play on the court. I think we did a better job this season and we'll work hard in the off-season to make the team stronger in 2009.”
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