College Volleyball
Lehigh/Lafayette Cross Town Tournament
Lehigh University 3, Rider University 0
Lafayette College 3, Rider University 0
BETHLEHEM & EASTON, Pa.-The Rider University volleyball team lost twice Saturday on the final day of the Lehigh/Lafayette Crosstown Invitational. "We made a huge improvement from our match against Providence on Friday," said head coach Emily Ahlquist. "Our serving and passing was better and we allowed ourselves opportunities to finish."
At Lafayette in the afternoon match, the Leopards swept the Broncs 25-19, 25-20, 25-22.
For Rider (2-9), senior Amy Jeary (Depew, N.Y./St. Mary's) had seven digs with senior Brittany Hayes (Mitchellville, Md./Elizabeth Seton) adding six kills and three blocks.
"Brittany is seeing the ball much better," said Ahlquist. "She is taking away the angles for the opposing hitters."
Jeary now has 1,536 career digs and needs 40 to set the modern day (since 1991) Rider record. Evette Hoeffner, in 348 matches, had 1,575 digs from 1998-2001.
In the opening match, despite 10 kills, three service aces and two blocks (14 points) from senior Alex Chapla (Aliquippa, Pa./Center Area), the Broncs were swept by Lehigh 25-21, 25-20, 25-22.
"Alex provides great leadership," Ahlquist said. "She is giving us stability on the right side of the court. She has a good presence on the court and has played consistently throughout the season."
Junior Elyse Grassmuck (San Antonio, Texas/La Vernia) added 17 assists against the Mountain Hawks with Hayes blocking eight shots.
Junior Katelyn Thompson (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothills) had seven digs, five kills and four aces for Rider.
In the first set against Lafayette (7-1), the Leopards jumped up 11-5 before Rider scored four straight off two kills by Hayes. A 9-3 run gave Lafayette an eight point lead with the Leopards winning the set by six.
Rider opened the second set winning 11 of the first 15 points before a 16-7 run gave Lafayette a 20-18 lead. A kill and ace by freshman Briana Wallace (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa), along with a Leopard attack error gave the Broncs a 21-20 lead before Lafayette won the set with a 5-0 run. Wallace had six kills and two service aces in the match.
Three straight attack errors by the Broncs gave Lafayette a 5-1 lead in the third set. Rider won the next five points to take a 6-5 lead. Trailing 9-8, the Leopards used a 4-0 run to re-take the lead at 12-9, the final lead change of the set. With Lafayette leading 17-13, Rider tied the set at 21 off of three kills by Chapla but could not take the lead. Tied at 22, Lafayette clinched the match with three straight kills. The third set saw seven ties and five lead changes and overall, there were 15 ties and 10 lead changes in the match.
In the morning match, Lehigh (3-5) jumped out 11-6 in the opening set before Rider went on a 10-2 run, three kills by Chapla to take a 16-13 lead. Trailing 17-14, Lehigh rallied winning seven of the next eight points, eventually winning the set by four.
The Mountain Hawks won 13 of the first 20 points in the second set to open up a six point lead. A three kill effort by Chapla sparked a Rider rally that tied the set at 18 before Lehigh recovered with an 8-2 run to win the set by five.
The Broncs led 13-9 in the third set before the Mountain Hawks won six straight points, taking a 15-13 lead. Rider responded by winning five of the next six points to re-take the lead at 18-16. Four ties followed with the last at 21 all before Lehigh won four of the last five points to clinch the match with a three-point win. Overall, the match saw 18 ties and 10 lead changes including 10 ties and six lead changes in the third set.
"The first match against Lehigh was intense," Ahlquist said. "It was fast, high paced volleyball. It was a fun match to watch for the spectators."
Lehigh has now won 20 of the 30 matches all-time against Rider in a series that dates to 1980. The teams last met in 2005 with Lehigh winning 3-2 at Villanova. Rider last defeated the Mountain Hawks in 2004 by a 3-0 score in Bethlehem.
Rider leads the all-time series against Lafayette 22-12 and this is only the third time since 1996 that Lafayette has defeated Rider. The Broncs defeated the Leopards 3-1 at the LaSalle Invitational in 2008 with the Leopards winning 3-2 in 2005 in Easton. Rider posted a 3-1 win during the 2004 season in Lawrenceville and defeated Lafayette twice during the 2002 season 3-1 and 3-0 at Alumni Gym on the Rider campus.
The Broncs have lost three straight.
Rider travels to Riverdale, New York to open the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference schedule against Manhattan on September 19 before a trip to Loudonville, New York to face the Saints of Siena College September 20.
"I'm excited for the conference schedule to start," Ahlquist said. "It is a long season and we are still in the beginning. In some spots, we are still young on the floor but we are growing as a team and gaining experience."
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