College Volleyball
Canisius College 3, Rider University 1
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Match
LAWRENCEVILLE--The Rider University volleyball team gave the Golden Griffins of Canisius College all they could handle before losing a hard fought four-set match on Saturday at Alumni Gym.
Canisius (11-10, 7-2 MAAC) won 18-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-23 in the almost two-hour match that saw 29 ties and 14 lead changes.
"It was a very close battle," said head coach Emily Ahlquist. "We always play them tough at home. It was a good match. I was proud of the players in how they held their composure in some very tough situations."
For Rider (1-18, 0-9 MAAC), senior Amanda Piccolini (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) had 48 assists and 17 digs with senior Katelyn Thompson (Tucson, Ariz. (Catalina Foothills) adding 16 kills and nine digs. Thompson accounted for 16.5 of Rider's 73.5 offensive points and hit .306.
"Amanda played very steady and distributed the ball well," Ahlquist said. "We had six players in double-digits in attacks including all five hitters. There was pretty even distribution and that's what we want. Opponents don't know the ball is coming with that many different attackers."
Also for the Broncs, freshman Meghan Knott (West Caldwell/James Caldwell) had 14 kills with senior Kristy Love adding 12 kills. Love hit .310 on the day. Love, graduate student Alex Chapla (Aliquippa, Pa./Center Area) and sophomore Stephanie Nagy (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) each had four block assists.
"Katelyn and Meg both provided an offensive force," Ahlquist added. "Both our outside hitters have worked really hard and we are now starting to see the results of that."
Senior Elyse Grassmuck (San Antonio, Texas/La Vernia) had a team-high 21 digs with sophomore Haley Wilson (Williamsburg, Iowa/Williamsburg) compiling 10 digs.
Canisius out-hit the Broncs .200 to .198 with Rider holding a 60-50 kill advantage. Each team had 77 digs.
The Broncs lost to Canisius in Buffalo 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-18) on September 26 and the Golden Griffins have won 17 of the 20 matches all-time against Rider including the last 10 in a row.
"We've worked very hard in practice and we are taking our process steps forward," Ahlquist said about the difference between now and the last time Rider faced Canisius four weeks ago. "This was highly competitive, just look at the scores and the stats. Set two along was amazing with 13 ties and five lead changes. That was a tough set."
The Broncs have lost 17 straight matches.
Rider hosts Niagara in a MAAC match at 1pm on Sunday. The defending MAAC champion Purple Eagles won at Loyola 3-0 on Saturday.
"It will be a quick turn around but I expect another tough match," Ahlquist said. "I expect a point for point battle."
-RU-
