College Volleyball
Manhattan College 3, Rider University 2
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Match
LAWRENCEVILLE-The Rider University volleyball team battled back from a two sets to none deficit to tie the match, before losing in the fifth and final set 15-13 in the 2010 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference season opener for both squads.
Manhattan (5-5, 1-0 MAAC) won the two-hour thriller 25-19, 25-13, 27-29, 20-25, 15-13.
"It was a fantastic match," said head coach Emily Ahlquist. "Both teams just went at it, point for point."
For Rider (1-9, 0-1 MAAC), senior Amanda Piccolini (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) had 49 assists and 16 digs with fellow senior Kristy Love (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Sutherland) recording 17 kills and four blocks.
"Kristy had a fantastic match and played three different positions," said Ahlquist. "She hit .429 and was aggressive. She had the attitude that she was going to put the ball down on the floor any way that she had to. She exhibited great leadership today, playing all out. And Amanda, she kept the team steady and kept everyone calm when we were facing the match points. She delivered the ball very well so the hitters could attack."
Also for the Broncs, senior Katelyn Thompson (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothills) had 13 kills, eight digs and four blocks, sophomore Stephanie Nagy (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) recorded eight blocks, grad student Alex Chapla (Aliquippa, Pa./Center Area) had 10 kills and senior Elyse Grassmuck (San Antonio, Texas/La Vernia) had 26 digs.
There were 31 ties and nine lead changes in the match, including 11 ties in the third set when Rider staved off five match points before winning 29-27.
Rider has lost eight
straight matches but took a giant step forward as a team, forcing a five
set marathon after being down two sets.
"We took one big step forward as a team in the third set," Ahlquist said. "There were so many good things that happened in the comeback. Even though it wasn't a win and make no mistake we want to win, the step forward in not giving up when we were two sets down and when we were facing match point, we showed pride and team unity and we are going to use that to build upon in our future matches."
"It was a refuse to lose attitude," assistant coach Paul Lano added. "The mental part of the game is a building block throughout the season and it is a fine line to play to win and not play to lose and I think we were playing to win today and that was a positive."
The Jaspers defeated Rider 3-2 in Riverdale, New York and 3-0 last season in Lawrenceville in a match that featured an NCAA record 45-43 opening set.
"Manhattan is a good team and who knows what will happen the next time we play them," Ahlquist added. "It was a win toward our vision to become a more confident and successful team."
Manhattan has defeated the Broncs in 19 of the 23 matches all-time. Rider has not defeated Manhattan since the 2004 season.
Rider hosts Fairfield in a 2:00pm MAAC match on Sunday. On Saturday, Fairfield went on the road and blanked Loyola Maryland 3-0 in a MAAC match. The Broncs gave Fairfield one of its two conference losses last season in Lawrenceville.
"Fairfield is a perennial power in the conference," said Ahlquist. "Add to the match that they did not like coming down here last season and losing. We have to be prepared because I know Fairfield will be ready to make sure they don't lose to us again. I expect a great match."
-RU-
