College Volleyball ? George Washington Invitational
Rider University 3, St. Francis College (NY) 0
WASHINGTON, D.C.?The Rider University volleyball team won its third match in a row, defeating St. Francis (NY) 3-0 in the first round of the George Washington Invitational Friday afternoon. “We played each point and held our composure,” said head coach Emily Ahlquist. “It was a workmanlike effort. There were a few too many errors but we can work on that.”
The Broncs won in straight sets 25-19, 25-15, 25-14.
Senior Lacey Johnson (Centennial, Colo./Grandview) had 10 digs, eight kills, four service aces and a .421 attack percentage to lead Rider (5-2). Johnson accounted for 12 of Rider's team points in the match, making no hitting errors on the day.
“I was relaxed and felt comfortable,” said Johnson. “I thought I played a pretty good match all around.”
“Lacey took control of the match,” said Ahlquist. “She played well both on the offensive and defensive ends of the court. Her efforts can kind of ?fly under the radar' as far as stats go but she made her effort known today.”
Sophomore Amanda Piccolini (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) had 24 assists and five digs with junior Amy Jeary (Depew, N.Y./St. Mary's) adding 12 digs and three service aces for the Broncs. Jeary needs 19 digs to reach 1,000 in her career.
This marks Rider's best start since the 2003 season when the Broncs also started 5-2.
“Anytime you gain momentum during a season, it is a good thing,” Ahlquist added about the start this season. “Momentum swings so fast in the sport of volleyball so anytime you can gain some confidence in your play, it only helps down the road, especially heading into conference. The one nice thing is that our players are not satisfied with the start. While they appreciate how far we've come and are excited by our start, they feel that we can play better and we're working toward that goal. They are hungry for more.”
“We're going to take the win but I don't think we've hit our peek yet,” added Johnson. “We made a lot of errors today. We learned that you can't take any team for granted and you have to be ready on every point of each set.”
Tied at two in the first set, Johnson served a 6-0 run to give the Broncs the early lead in the six point win.
Set two again saw Johnson serve six straight as Rider jumped out to a 6-0 lead. Leading 11-1, Rider traded points with the Terriers enroute to a 10 point win.
The third set saw the Broncs jump out to a 7-1 lead on the serves of Piccolini and Johnson with Rider cruising to an 11 point win to clinch the match.
Rider has won 18 of the 19 matches in the series over St. Francis (NY).
The Terriers have lost nine straight to start the 2008 season and 11 in a row dating back to last season.
The Broncs face Delaware State (noon) and the host Colonials (5:00 p.m.) on Saturday in the final round of the tournament.
“I'm excited about Saturday,” said Ahlquist. “We're getting to see a lot of different teams and styles a week before conference play so this tournament is a great experience for us.”
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