College Volleyball
Siena College 3, Rider University 1
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Match
LAWRENCEVILLE-The Rider University volleyball team lost a hard fought Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match to Siena College on Sunday afternoon in Alumni Gymnasium.
The Saints won 25-22, 25-23, 21-25, 25-23 in the almost two hour match.
"We played with more consistency and the match could have gone in about 10 different directions," said head coach Christopher Feliciano. "What we have to learn is that we put ourselves in the position that it could have gone 10 different ways. We had a big lead in the first set and didn't finish and then a few calls didn't go our way. We put ourselves in unfavorable positions."
For Rider (3-10, 1-2 MAAC), freshman Jaclyn Webber (Anaheim, Calif./Canyon) had 17 kills and 16 digs, hitting .364 for the match.
Also for the Broncs, freshman Ashlee Amatulli (Menifee, Calif./Temecula Valley) had 35 assists and 15 digs with freshman Kayla Wong (Tustin, Calif./Arnold O. Beckman) compiling 14 kills and junior Stephanie Nagy (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) adding 13 kills while hitting .367.
"Webber, Nagy and Wong, their success today starts with one name and that is Ashlee Amatulli," Feliciano said. "Ashlee made an adjustment to create more separation on the block which allowed Jaclyn Webber to have one on one situations and that led to her success in the match. But really, it was a job well done on Ashlee's part to get everyone involved in the plays."
Siena (3-7, 1-1 MAAC) out-hit Rider .212 to .200 in a match that saw 17 ties and eight lead changes.
Freshman Shelbie Stannard (Alvin, Texas/Alvin) had 18 digs with sophomore Bridget Sheerin (Oak Lawn, Ill./Marist) compiling 15 digs and eight assists for the Broncs.
Siena swept Rider 3-0 and 3-1 in the two MAAC matches last season and also posted 3-0 and 3-1 wins over the Broncs in 2009. Siena has won 19 of the 22 matches in the series against Rider with the last Bronc win over the Saints in 2004.
"I was happy to see the fight that we have in the team," Feliciano added. "We were up, got down and battled back. We stuck with the play and that is significant. It doesn't change the fact that we want to win now but there are some positives we can take out of the match."
Rider hits the road for three straight, starting with Fairleigh Dickinson on September 21 at 7pm before returning to MAAC competition at Saint Peter's (September 24) and at Manhattan on September 25.
"We have to win," Feliciano said about the upcoming week. "Especially the MAAC matches, in order for us to be in contention for the four playoff spots, we have to start winning now. Both matches this past weekend (Marist, Siena) were winnable and now we have to get one on the road. I want the team to know what it feels like to be in the hunt for the playoffs. We have to go beat someone we are not supposed to beat, something I think we are capable of doing."
-RU-
