College Volleyball
Rutgers University 3, Rider University 0
PISCATAWAY--In the final non-conference match of the 2010 regular season, Rutgers University won the battle of the RUs with a straight set win over Rider University in women's volleyball Tuesday evening.
"It was fun," said head coach Emily Ahlquist. "We showed a lot of versatility, had high energy and it was nice to just play."
The Scarlet Knights won 25-21, 25-12, 25-21, sending the Broncs to their 16th straight defeat.
For Rider (1-17), senior Kristy Love (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Sutherland) had five kills with senior Elyse Grassmuck (San Antonio, Texas/La Vernia) compiling nine assists and nine digs.
"Kristy did very well," said Ahlquist. "We had so many players, playing different positions that it is hard to single out just one because we had many players play multiple roles. The stats may not show they did well but they were playing multiple positions throughout the match. But specifically to Kristy, she provided a lot of high energy and a big presence, especially in the front row."
Graduate student Alex Chapla (Aliquippa, Pa./Center Area) had a solo block and three block assists for the Broncs.
Rutgers (8-11) out-hit Rider .202 to .127 and had 11 service aces in the match.
The Scarlet Knights have won 13 of the 18 matches all-time against Rider with the Broncs last defeating Rutgers during the 1991 season. The in-state rivals, last met September 20, 1996 with Rutgers prevailing 3-0.
"That was what was nice about tonight's match," Ahlquist said. "We are almost half way through conference play so we got to try some different line ups, players in new positions because it was non-conference. It is important to our development and we try to schedule a non-conference match at about the midway point of the MAAC schedule. It is also a stress reliever to have a match that you can just go out and play this time of year."
Rider returns to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play, hosting Canisius in a MAAC match Saturday in Alumni Gym on the Lawrenceville campus at 2pm.
"It is going to be a tough weekend with the Buffalo schools (Canisius and Niagara) but we always enjoy playing them, especially at home," Ahlquist added.
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