College Volleyball
Marist College 3, Rider University 1
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Match
LAWRENCEVILLE--The 2009 Rider University volleyball season came to an end Sunday with a 3-1 loss to Marist College in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match at Alumni Gym.
Marist (17-12, 11-7 MAAC) defeated the Broncs 25-18, 25-23, 26-28, 25-10.
For Rider (3-26, 1-17 MAAC), junior Kristy Love (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Sutherland) had 13 kills and four digs with junior Katelyn Thompson (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothills) adding 10 kills and six digs. "Kristy had a fantastic match and did well switching positions," said head coach Emily Ahlquist. "She brought the team energy."
The Red Foxes swept Rider 3-0 on October 17 in Poughkeepsie, New York and Marist leads the overall series 14-11. Rider last defeated Marist during the 2005 season.
"I thought it was a fantastic match overall," said Ahlquist. "We fought and came back and played three really close sets. We played Marist much better than we played them a month ago in New York."
Junior Amanda Piccolini (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) had 32 assists and seven digs with senior Amy Jeary (Depew, N.Y./St. Mary's) compiling 25 digs. Jeary ends her Bronc career as the Rider record holder in digs with 1,830.
"Amy did so many things well both on and off the court," Ahlquist said. "She was a fantastic passer and defender and led the defense. She was also a fantastic leader off the floor and was a presence for all of the younger players. She was just a go to person these last four years."
Junior Elyse Grassmuck (San Antonio, Texas/La Vernia) added 11 digs for the Broncs.
Marist jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the opening set, before the Broncs cut the lead to 8-7. A 7-2 Red Fox run gave Marist a six-point lead with the Red Foxes eventually winning the set by seven.
Trailing 16-12 in the second set, Rider rallied to take a 22-20 lead with a 10-4 run, two kills by senior Brittany Hayes (Mitchellville, Md./Elizabeth Seton). Hayes, who started all 114 matches in her career, played in 407 consecutive sets at Rider and had eight kills and three digs in the match Sunday. Marist won five of the final six points to clinch the set by two.
The Broncs jumped up 7-0 in the third set, taking advantage of four attack errors by Marist. Trailing 24-21, the Red Foxes tied the set at 24 with a 3-0 run. A kill by senior Alex Chapla (Aliquippa, Pa./Center Area) gave the Broncs a 25-24 lead and a set point before Marist rebounded to take a 26-25 advantage. A service error by Marist and an ace by freshman Briana Wallace (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) followed by a Thompson kill gave the Broncs the 28-26 win. Chapla had eight kills and two digs with Wallace adding four kills and two digs.
Set four was all Marist as the Red Foxes used a 14-3 run to break open a 5-3 set, and Marist clinched the match with a 15 point win.
Rider ended the season on a 14 match losing streak, dropping 20 of 21 with the only win coming against first-place Fairfield in a MAAC match on September 27 in Lawrenceville.
"I told the team that we really only had three bad matches the entire season," Ahlquist added. "We competed in every other match. We always look to see what we can do better and our passing got better, the defense got better, the blocking got better and the hitting got better, so we, as a whole got better. We look at other things besides the overall record. We know in our heads that the effort will translate to wins down the road."
The win gives Marist its first MAAC four-team playoff tournament appearance in its 13 years as a member of the conference in a non-Disney year. Marist will take on the regular-season champions Fairfield on Sunday, Nov. 22 at the Koessler Athletic Center on the campus of Canisius College in Buffalo. Niagara and Siena are the other two teams that will play in the tournament. In 2010, Rider will join the other nine MAAC schools at Disney's Wide World of Sports as the 10-team conference playoffs will be contested in Orlando, Florida.
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