College Volleyball
Manhattan College 3, Rider University 0
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Match
Broncs/Jaspers combine for 88 points in the opening set
LAWRENCEVILLE-Normally, the heavyweight prize fights and historic athletic events happen near Manhattan at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. This epic battle involved Manhattan (the College) but happened in New Jersey at the Rider University Student Recreation Center.
In a three-set match that took almost two hours to complete, the Rider volleyball team lost to Manhattan College in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match Friday evening with the teams combining for 88 points in the opening set.
The Jaspers won 45-43, 26-24, 25-16 in a match that had the almost 200 fans at a loss to describe what they just witnessed.
"The first two sets were amazing," said head coach Emily Ahlquist. "Having 50 combined points in the second set was just as amazing as having 88 points in the opening set. If there was ever a good time for the scheduled 10-minute intermission that was it."
For Rider (3-19, 1-10 MAAC), junior Amanda Piccolini (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) had 40 assists with senior Amy Jeary (Depew, N.Y./St. Mary's) adding 21 digs.
"Amanda was a stabilizing factor for us," said Ahlquist. "She kept everyone calm and focused."
The first set is a MAAC record for combined score (88 points) and featured 33 ties and 17 lead changes. Rider staved off 14 set points including six in a row after the Jaspers kept taking a one-point lead, starting at 25-24. The Jaspers staved off seven set points of their own to end the 38 minute marathon.
"The fans saw some incredible volleyball," Ahlquist added. "The crowd was loud and into every point. They witnessed an historic event. Both teams were playing all out and any errors that were made were made out of aggression. Anyone who knows about volleyball will see that this was not your typical 3-0 match."
The NCAA switched to the 25-set point scoring system at the beginning of the 2008 season and the NCAA record book currently lists a 39-37 match (76 points) on August 30, 2008 (Stony Brook 39 - Central Connecticut State 37) as the combined record score. Research at the NCAA office in Indianapolis is continuing on the 2009 matches played so far to see if the Rider-Manhattan match set any NCAA records.
"From a coaching stand point, this was a really fun match to coach," said Ahlquist. "The team showed me a lot battling back from the first set loss and were right in the match the whole time. The team is mentally strong and showed that tonight."
Also for the Broncs, senior Brittany Hayes (Mitchellville, Md./Elizabeth Seton) had nine kills, five digs and two blocks with junior Katelyn Thompson (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothills) adding 11 kills and senior Tara Hansen (Beachwood/Toms River HS South) compiling 10 digs.
"Brittany kept us in the first set by hitting .444," said Ahlquist. "She held Manhattan's middle blocker in check. She was getting to blocks and had high energy. She kept us going. Really, it was a team effort with everyone working together." Hayes hit .286 in the match.
Stephanie Nagy had eight kills and scored 8.5 points off the bench for Rider. "Steph was up and ready to play tonight," Ahlquist said. "It is nice to have a freshman able to give us such an energy boost off the bench."
Trailing 15-12 in the opening set, Rider tied the set at 15 on two Jasper attack errors and a kill by Thompson before Manhattan retook the lead 18-15. Trailing 19-16, the Broncs rallied with a 6-0 run, two kills by Hayes to take a 22-19 lead. Trailing 23-20, the Jaspers tied the set at 23 on two Bronc attack errors and a Jasper service ace. Manhattan had six set points in a row (25-24, 26-25, 27-26, 28-27, 29-28 and 30-29 with Rider staving off each one. The teams combined for eight service errors after the score was tied at 25.
Set two saw Rider take an early 10-6 lead. After trading points, the Jaspers trailed 20-16 before rallying with a 3-0 run to get within one. The Broncs led 24-21 and had three set points but could not close out the set as Manhattan finished the set on a 5-0 run to take a two sets to none lead.
Manhattan led 10-9 in the third set before going on a 5-0 run to lead 15-9, eventually winning the set by nine.
Each team had 75 digs with Rider holding a 50-44 kill advantage and 46-42 assist advantage. There were 337 total attacks in the match.
The Jaspers defeated Rider 3-2 on September 19 in Riverdale, New York and have defeated the Broncs in 18 of the 22 matches all-time. Rider has not won against Manhattan since the 2004 season.
The Broncs have lost seven straight and 13 of 14 matches.
Rider hosts Siena for senior day on Saturday at 2:00pm in the Student Recreation Center on the Lawrenceville campus, adjacent to Alumni Gym.
"It is going to be emotional," Ahlquist said. "It could go a couple of ways but I expect the players to use this to bring extra energy to the match. Their parents don't get to see all of the matches that we play and to give them this type of effort tonight and playing again tomorrow, it is going to be a special day for the whole team."
Seniors Alex Chapla (Aliquippa, Pa./Center Area), co-captain Tara Hansen (Beachwood/Toms River HS South), Brittany Hayes (Mitchellville, Md./Elizabeth Seton) and co-captain Amy Jeary (Depew, N.Y./St. Mary's) will be honored prior to the match.
-RU-
NCAA Records Set Friday Night - *pending other records set during the 2009 season*
(research courtesy of Manhattan College)Most Points, Single-Set (25-point format)45, Manhattan vs. Rider (43)-10/23/09(Old record: 39, Stony Brook vs. Central Connecticut (37)-8/30/08) Most Points (Both Teams), Single-Set (25-point format)88, Manhattan (45) vs. Rider (43)-10/23/09(Old record: 76, Stony Brook (39) vs. Central Connecticut State (37)-8/30/08) Most Points, Three-Set match (25-point format)96, Manhattan vs. Rider-10/23/09(Old record: 88, Michigan vs. Indiana-10/18/08)
