College Volleyball
Rider University 3, Saint Francis (NY) College 2
Fordham University 3, Rider University 2
BROOKLYN, N.Y.-Winds of change. Under the threat of a hurricane, new Rider University head volleyball coach Christopher Feliciano wants fans to come out and watch the Broncs become relevant again and warned that there would be exciting volleyball in the very near future of the program.
His forecast was pretty accurate as the Feliciano era got off to a solid start with the Broncs defeating the host Terriers of St. Francis (NY) and splitting two five-set matches at the SFNY Terrier Invitational Friday. Rider (1-1) lost to Fordham in the nightcap, also in five sets.
"I learned that all 16 of our players really have heart," said Feliciano after the first two matches of his Rider career. "While you only have seven players on the floor, your entire team gets you through the match, especially after playing a five-setter 45 minutes prior. We never gave up and almost pulled out a victory against a good, good team out of the A-10 in Fordham."
Rider rallied from one set down and took the fifth set after St. Francis (NY) came back from a two sets to one deficit.
"I'm happy we won a match," Feliciano said after knocking off the Terriers. "I would rather have had the team perform a little more consistently but a win is a win, whether you win by 25 or by two."
The Broncs prevailed against St. Francis (NY) 17-25, 25-16, 25-19, 22-25, 15-12 in a two-hour match that featured 16 ties and nine lead changes before Fordham defeated the Broncs 25-22, 20-25, 25-18, 23-25, 15-12.
Against the Terriers, freshman Jaclyn Webber (Anaheim, Calif./Canyon) had a 'double-double' (15 kills, 11 digs) with junior Stephanie Nagy (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) adding 11 kills and a .611 attack percentage.
Freshman Shelbie Stannard (Alvin, Texas/Alvin) led Rider with 19 digs and junior co-captain Brittany Gajewski (Whitehouse Station/Hunterdon Central Regional) had 13 digs.
Also for the Broncs against St. Francis (NY), freshman Kayla Wong (Tustin, Calif./Arnold O. Beckman) had 13 kills and six digs with sophomore Bridget Sheerin (Oak Lawn, Ill./Marist H.S.) compiling 14 digs and eight kills.
"Kayla, tonight demonstrated what her true potential is," Feliciano said. "There were moments when we needed crucial side outs and every time, she rose to the occasion."
Freshman Rachel Jensen (Buena Park, Calif./Troy) added eight block assists and seven kills in her collegiate debut.
"We pretty much started an entire freshman team today," Feliciano added. "We had moments today where that showed, where they locked up a bit but we'll work through that as they gain experience."
Against the Rams, freshman Ashlee Amatulli (Menifee, Calif./Temecula Valley) had 26 assists with Wong adding 19 kills.
Webber had 15 kills and nine digs with Sheerin adding a 'double-double' of 11 digs and 10 kills.
The match against Fordham had 28 ties and 14 lead changes.
Rider, which won only five matches in 2010, did end the year winning four of nine matches, including twice in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference playoffs at Disney in Florida and the Broncs return eight letterwinners from that squad to go along with eight newcomers this season.
Rider's last five-set win was over Marist College on October 31, 2010.
"In years past, Rider would go to five and would battle and scrap but not win the match," Feliciano said. "It is a big hurdle to get a five-set win out of the way. You never want to be up 2-1 and lost in five sets. We stayed poised, stuck to the system and came out victorious. That was nice to see, especially so early in the season."
Against the Terriers in the opening match, Rider trailed 12-10 before St. Francis (NY) scored nine of the next 13 points, opening up a 21-14 lead enroute to a 25-17 win.
Rider won four of the first five points in set two on kills by Nagy, Webber and Sheerin and leading 8-7, kills by Jensen and Wong sparked a 4-0 run. Jensen added a service ace and kill as the Broncs extended their lead to 16-9 with two kills by Nagy closing out a 25-16 win to tie the match at one.
Trailing 4-0 in set three, Rider rallied with an 8-1 run behind the serving of Stannard (two aces) and two kills by Webber. Tied at nine, the Broncs won seven of the next eight points, opening up a 16-10 lead, two kills by Webber. After seeing the Terriers claw back to within 18-16, Rider responded, winning seven of the final 10 points to take the set 25-19.
St. Francis (NY) led 20-12 in the fourth set before the Broncs won 10 of 14 points to get within 24-22 but the Terriers were able to withstand the rally and force the fifth and deciding set 25-22.
Tied at five in set five, Rider used three Terrier errors to take an 8-5 lead. After St. Francis (NY) tied the score at 10, the Broncs again used a 3-0 run, on a kill by Nagy and two Terrier attack errors to take a 13-10 lead. St. Francis (NY) won the next two points before kills by Wong and Nagy clinched Rider's first season opening win since 2008. There were five ties in the final set.
Against Fordham in set one, a set that had seven ties, the Rams broke a 20-20 deadlock, scoring five of the last seven points for a 25-22 win.
Tied at 10 in set two, Rider went on a 3-0 run, off a Sheerin kill and two Ram setting errors. Fordham got to within 19-17 before Rider pulled away with Wong compiling three kills in the last 10 plays of the 25-20 win.
Set three saw Rider take a 12-8 lead before the Rams scored 13 of the next 18 points to take a 21-17 lead and Fordham won the set 25-18 to go up two sets to one.
Rider rallied for a come from behind win in set four, overcoming a 21-18 deficit with a 5-0 run, including a kill by Wong, two Ram attack errors and a service ace from Jensen to win 25-23 and force a fifth and deciding set.
Two Wong kills and three Fordham attack errors put Rider up 5-0 in set number five before Fordham scored 14 of the next 19 points to take a 14-10 lead. The Rams eventually held on for a 15-12 win.
"Today was a good solid team effort," Feliciano said. "Our setters really gave our hitters good opportunities to score. Against Fordham, we had a lot of one on one matchups and we really froze their middle blocker. We kept them off balance. In the fifth set, our passing broke down a little bit."
Feliciano is in his first season as head coach at Rider, replacing Emily Ahlquist who resigned after 12 seasons. Feliciano was an assistant at Fordham before taking the helm of the Broncs.
The Broncs last played St. Francis (NY) in 2008, winning 3-0 and Rider played Fordham last season, losing 3-0.
The second day (and final match) of the tournament, scheduled for Saturday against the New Jersey Institute of Technology, was canceled due to preparations for Hurricane Irene.
Rider hosts Lehigh in the 2011 home opener on August 31 at 6pm in Alumni Gymnasium.
"I believe that today, the team took a few steps in the right direction in accomplishing the goal of becoming relevent this year," Feliciano said. "Their hard work will determine how quickly that goal becomes a reality and it will be very rewarding to see all 16 players work together and fight to reach our goals for the season."
Winds of change indeed.
-RU-
