College Volleyball
Rider University 3, Fairfield University 1
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Match
LAWRENCEVILLE-The English Proverb says that all good things must come to an end. For the Rider University volleyball team, all bad things must come to an end as well. After losing five straight and 10 of 11 matches and dropping the opening set by 12 points, the Broncs rallied and defeated first place Fairfield in a Metro Atlantic Conference match Sunday afternoon.
Rider (3-12, 1-3 MAAC) won 13-25, 27-25, 26-24, 26-24.
"We played very organized today," said head coach Emily Ahlquist. "We've known all along that we could do this. At various times, we had three first-year players on the floor but they came out with confidence and energy and were a contributing factor in the win today. We fought for every point but we also just relaxed and played."
For the Broncs, junior Amanda Piccolini (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) had 31 assists with senior Amy Jeary (Depew, N.Y./St. Mary's) adding 24 digs.
Also for Rider, junior Kristy Love (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Sutherland) had 16 kills and three blocks, accounting for 17.5 points with senior Brittany Hayes (Mitchellville, Md./Elizabeth Seton) compiling 11 kills and 13.5 points.
"Going into the second set, we knew we could come back and win," said Love who hit .325 in the match. "It's hard to explain but we know we can play better and beat some of the teams that we've lost to and it all came together in the second, third and fourth set. We always battle Fairfield and we didn't let down after the opening set. The passing was spot on today and that is the only way we get kills. Amanda [Piccolini] had some great one on one plays and you can't forget what Amy [Jeary] did for us from the back row."
Leading 10-9 in the opening set, the Stags scored 10 of the next 12 points and won by 12, making only one error in 32 attacks (.438 attack percentage) winning 92 percent of their side outs.
Trailing 9-4 in the second set, Rider rallied to tie the score at 12 with kills by Love, Hayes and Piccolini. Piccolini had four kills and hit .333. The Stags went up by five (18-13) and led by three as late as 23-20 before the Broncs rallied with a 4-0 run to go up 24-23 off two Fairfield errors, a Chapla kill and an ace by freshman Brittany Gajewski (Whitehouse Station/Hunterdon Central) who had two aces and seven digs on the day. Rider had set point twice off of two Stag attack errors before a kill from freshman Briana Wallace (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa)finally closed out the set.
Senior Alex Chapla (Aliquippa, Pa./Center Area) had 14 digs and five blocks, junior Elyse Grassmuck (San Antonio, Texas/La Vernia) had 13 digs with Wallace compiling 10 kills for the Broncs.
"Briana provided a lot of energy for us today," Ahlquist said. "She goes after it and does anything for the team. Today, we needed her to swing fast and provide energy and she did. Overall, everyone contributed today. When we play together as a unit, we are tough to defend against."
"We played the best we've played all season," Wallace said. "We are just going to keep working hard to get better. I was able to hit the ball well and it was due to the effort by the setters. They are amazing and if it wasn't for Amanda [Piccolini], we would not have won the match."
The third set featured 13 ties and five lead changes. Trailing 20-18, Fairfield took a 23-21 lead with a 5-1 run, only to see the Broncs use four kills by Hayes to take five of the next six points in the 26-24 win.
The Stags looked like they would push the match to five sets, jumping out to a 9-3 lead in set four. Rider responded with a 10-4 run to tie the set at 13 including four kills in a row by Love off Piccolini assists. Fairfield regained the lead at 22-20 before the Broncs won six of the final eight points, including three more kills by Love to clinch the match.
Freshman Stephanie Nagy (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) had nine blocks for Rider as the Broncs had 10.5 team blocks to none for Fairfield. "Stephanie was seeing the ball well today," Ahlquist said. "She is coming along and developing as a collegiate player."
"Stephanie had amazing blocks," Wallace added. "It definitely was a team effort."
Fairfield (5-10, 3-1 MAAC) had won seven straight over Rider dating to the 2004 season. Overall, this is only the fifth time in 19 matches that the Broncs have defeated the Stags.
"Fairfield played a great match," Ahlquist added. "They are scrappy, they hit the ball, they tip the ball, they are very smart. Both teams played very well."
Overall, there were 30 ties and 10 lead changes in the match.
The Broncs make the return trip to Fairfield to face the Stags October 18.
Rider hosts Iona in a MAAC match at 2:00pm on October 3 in the Student Recreation Center, adjacent to Alumni Gym.
"In this conference, you have to be ready to play each match," Ahlquist said. "We have to bring energy to the floor. Iona is another very good team."
"I'm very excited about facing Iona and Saint Peter's next weekend," said Love. "I think we are going to gain some attention in the league by knocking off Fairfield so our next matches should be pretty exciting."
And for the Broncs heading into next weekend, here is hoping all good things don't come to an end.
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