College Volleyball - La Salle Invitational
Rider University 3, La Salle University 0
Villanova University 3, Rider University 0
Rider's Lacey Johnson All-Tournament
PHILADELPHIA, Pa.? Broncs bucking the trend of the past. The Rider University volleyball team has already equaled its win total from the entire 2007 season, splitting two matches on Saturday to finish the La Salle Invitational with a 2-2 record. "We showed vast improvement this weekend," said head coach Emily Ahlquist. "After going through what the team did last season, the team has showed a lot of heart and enthusiasm with its play so far this season."
Senior Lacey Johnson (Centennial, Colo./Grandview) had her 29th career ?double-double' against La Salle (16 kills, 10 digs) and had 23 kills and 22 digs on the day. "Lacey has a lot of expectations on her," Ahlquist said. "She's started the year strong and she is showing she is a veteran outside hitter. She is playing smart volleyball and has really helped her younger teammates with her knowledge of the game."
Johnson had 36 digs, 35 kills and seven assists in the four matches, earning All-Tournament honors.
"I was really impressed with how we came out this weekend," said Johnson, who is co-captain of the team. "We had a high amount of energy in practice and brought it out onto the court. Last year was frustrating and upsetting. We are going to take advantage of the fact that other teams won't expect much from us and use that to our advantage."
Fellow senior Lindsay Brant (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) also had a ?double-double' against La Salle (1-1) with 15 digs and a career high 11 kills, adding nine digs against Villanova in the nightcap. The 15 digs were one off her career high. "Lindsay worked very hard in the spring and has stepped up her game," Ahlquist added. "She is playing very aggressive."
Sophomore Elyse Grassmuck (San Antonio, Texas/La Vernia) had 31 assists in the two matches for Rider with sophomore Amanda Piccolini (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) adding 19 assists against La Salle.
Junior Amy Jeary (Depew, N.Y./St. Mary's) had 16 digs against La Salle for the Broncs.
"Having multiple weapons on offense is going to be key for us," said Ahlquist. "The defense may be able to take out one or two players and having others on the floor that can step up makes it almost impossible for the defense."
In a match that saw 16 ties and 10 lead changes, the Broncs defeated the host Explorers 28-26, 25-23, 25-23, Rider's first win over La Salle since the 2004 season. The Explorers defeated Rider twice last season, 3-0 and 3-1.
With the first set tied at 22, the teams traded the next eight points before an Explorer attack error and a kill by Johnson ended the opener at 28-26.
Trailing 23-21 in the second, Rider ended the set on a 4-0 run, three kills by Johnson to lead the match 2-0.
An 8-2 run in the third set saw the Broncs go from a 16-10 deficit to an 18 all tie and trailing 20-18, Rider used a 5-0 run to open up a three point lead, winning the set and clinching the match on another kill by Johnson.
"The La Salle match was one of the best matches I've seen in a long time," Ahlquist said. "We were very focused mentally and very aggressive. It looked like we wanted the close points more. Having lost twice to La Salle last year, there was a revenge factor, especially playing them in their own tournament on their home floor. It was a great, loud atmosphere and there was a lot of emotion. Both teams played very well. It was exciting."
"We had some mental errors," Johnson said. "But we pushed through and didn't give up."
Against Villanova (2-1), the Broncs were defeated in straight sets, 24-26, 15-25, 22-25.
The Wildcats used a late 9-2 run to steal the opener, a set Rider led by six early.
"We were successful in a lot of areas," Ahlquist added. "We also saw a lot of things that we have to work on and it is a little easier to work harder in practice when you've had some early success on the court. Our passing is one area, especially in the second match that we need to do better at. It wasn't as ?global' as we would have liked."
Tied at four in the second, Villanova used a 15-5 run to put the set away early.
Trailing 20-13 in the third and final set, the Broncs rallied with a 9-2 run to tied the score at 22 before the Wildcats ended the match with a 3-0 run.
Rider has won three of four sets this season that have been decided by two points.
"With the new 25-point set, you have to play point by point," Ahlquist added. "You have to learn from your mistakes but you also have to have a short memory and worry about the next point or the set could get away from you. We've done a better job of limited the runs by our opponents so far this season."
This marks the second time in three seasons that the Broncs have split four matches at the La Salle Invitational, having gone 2-2 in 2006.
"It was important for us to come out strong in the opening match each day," Ahlquist added. "In a typical conference situation, you only play one match a day and can exert all of your energy into that match. Villanova had a six-hour break in between its matches and we only had an hour of recovery time. It is a mentally and physically demanding schedule but that's by design to make the matches later in the season easier to handle. We played four matches in 24 hours this weekend."
Rider has now won 11 of the 32 matches in the series against the Explorers and is winless in five matches all-time against Villanova.
The Broncs travel to the Sacred Heart Invitational September 5-6. "We're going to get back in the gym this week and work on some things and correct the errors that happened this weekend," Johnson said. "I'm really excited for next weekend and I think we will have good results."
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