College Volleyball
Rider University 3, Saint Peter's College 0
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Match
LAWRENCEVILLE—The Rider University volleyball team won its second match in a row, defeating Saint Peter's in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match Saturday afternoon.
The Broncs won 25-21, 25-22, 25-9.
For Rider (3-22, 2-13 MAAC), sophomore Brittany Gajewski (Whitehouse Station/Hunterdon Central) had 17 digs with sophomore Stephanie Nagy (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) adding 10 kills. Nagy hit .333 in the match.
“We played very controlled today,” said head coach Emily Ahlquist. “We kept our emotions in check and Brittany and Stephanie did fantastic for us. Britt played libero and Steph got the kills that we know she has the ability to get.”
“It was a really good win,” said Gajewski. “It is nice to win two matches in a row.”
Also for the Broncs, senior Katelyn Thompson (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothills) had 14 digs with senior Elyse Grassmuck (San Antonio, Texas/La Vernia) adding 10 digs.
Rider out-hit the Peahens .202 to .107.
The match featured 16 ties and nine lead changes.
Rider avenged a 3-0 loss at Saint Peter's on October 10. “Saint Peter's plays a slower tempo,” Gajewski said. “We worked on playing a faster pace and were successful doing that today.”
Rider had 12 service aces, including four from senior Amanda Piccolini (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) who also added 27 assists in the match.
“We worked on different tempos for our offense,” Ahlquist added. “We are starting to see the fruits of our hard work all year.”
The Broncs have won 13 of the 33 matches in the all-time series, breaking an 11 match losing streak to the Peahens.
"This is the first time that we've defeated Saint Peter's in a long time so that is a really big deal for us," Gajewski added. "Our middles did very well today and we also served very well."
This is Rider's longest winning streak since winning four in a row in September, 2008.
Rider travels to Manhattan for a MAAC match Sunday.
“Manhattan is a tough team, especially playing them on the road,” Ahlquist said. “It is a great atmosphere and we are going to have to bring our 'A' game.”
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