College Volleyball
Canisius College 3, Rider University 0
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Match
LAWRENCEVILLE?Despite a ?double-double' from senior Lacey Johnson (Centennial, Colo./Grandview), the Rider University volleyball team lost in straight sets to Canisius in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match Saturday afternoon.
Johnson had 14 digs and 12 kills, her 22nd career 'double-double' as the Broncs lost in three-sets 25-19, 25-21, 25-16.
Also for Rider (7-6, 0-3 MAAC), junior Amy Jeary (Depew, N.Y./St. Mary's) had 22 digs.
“Lacey and Amy did really well,” said head coach Emily Ahlquist. “Our ball control was good, we just couldn't get any momentum going.”
The match saw 17 ties and 11 lead changes.
In the first set, trailing 11-8, Canisius (8-4, 3-0 MAAC) went on a 7-0 run winning the opening set by six.
Tied at 10 in set two, the Golden Griffins used a 4-0 run to take a four point lead. Trailing by six, Rider countered with a 4-0 run to cut the Canisius lead to 22-20 but that was as close as the Broncs would get as the Golden Griffins won by four. The second set saw eight ties and six lead changes.
An 8-3 run broke a 2-2 tie in the third set with Canisius opening up a five-point lead and a 9-3 run gave the Golden Griffins a 10-point lead in the eventual nine-point win to clinch the match. Canisius out-hit Rider .364 to .114 in the set and .250 to .117 for the match.
Sophomore Elyse Grassmuck (San Antonio, Texas/La Vernia) had 19 assists with sophomore Amanda Piccolini (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) adding 11 assists for the Broncs.
“It was one of those matches, we had a couple of calls not go our way and we really just weren't consistent the entire match,” Ahlquist added. “A few plays here and there and the match could have gone five sets.”
Rider has lost three straight, all in conference play.
“We look at the bigger picture,” Ahlquist said about the losing streak. “In conference play, on any given day, anyone can beat anyone else and we believe that we are right there.”
Canisius has won 12 of the 15 matches in the series.
“Canisius was more consistent and we were up and down,” Ahlquist said. “We needed to get more of our hitters involved. We need to believe and have a little more consistency.”
The Broncs host Niagara in a MAAC match at noon on Sunday.
“I'm excited about the match on Sunday,” Ahlquist said. “It's nice for our fans to see us play and we always have good matches against Niagara. Niagara is very scrappy and play fast paced. It should be a fun match.”
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