College Volleyball
Best Western Wild Weekend Invitational
Rider University 3, Binghamton University 1
Rider University 3, Bethune-Cookman 1
Griffin All-Tournament

PRINCESS ANNE, Md.—The Rider University volleyball team rebounded from an 0-2 start at the Best Western Wild Weekend Invitational, winning twice on Saturday by 3-1 scores over Binghamton and Bethune-Cookman in matches hosted at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Rider (6-7, 1-0 MAAC) defeated Binghamton 25-21, 25-21, 19-25, 33-31 and the Broncs won over Bethune-Cookman 25-18, 24-26, 25-20, 25-22.

“A lot of teams would have had a lost weekend and gone 0-4 after how we played Friday,” said head coach Christopher Feliciano, referring to 3-1 losses against UMES and Campbell.  “I'm really proud of the team and their mental fortitude.  They buckled down and took ownership of the situation.  This was a team effort and this may have been a make or break point of the season.”

Against the Bearcats, a monster match by Kaitlyn Griffin (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory) saw the sophomore compile 21 kills and hit .439 to pace the Bronc offensive attack.

The MAAC Rookie of the Year for Rider in 2013, Griffin had 63 kills, hit .374 and had 13 blocks in the four matches and was named to the all-tournament team.

“Kaitlyn is a talented player,” Feliciano said.  “But she is only going to be as good as our serve receivers and the setters.  Our setters did a phenomenal job of putting her in good situations and our passers did a great job receiving the ball.  Kaitlyn showed today how well she can dominate a match.”

“Everyone was cheering and communicating both on and off the court,” Griffin said.  “It was like we were unstoppable the second day.  The first day, I believe we fought hard and put the effort in but needed to be more aggressive once we got to the 20 point mark.”

Senior Jaclyn Webber (Anaheim, Calif./Canyon) had 15 digs with freshman Emma Aldaya (Prospect Park, Pa./Merion Mercy Academy) adding 14 digs against Binghamton.

The setters continued their strong contribution with senior Ashlee Amatulli (Menifee, Calif./Temecula Valley) scoring 22 assists and junior Brandie Hill (Portland, Ore./Lincoln) compiling 21 assists for the Broncs.

“The passing was amazing the entire weekend,” Griffin added.  “It was almost easy for the hitters to kill the ball and score.”

Rider led 22-18 in the fourth and deciding set before Binghamton staged a rally to tie the score 23-23.  After the set was tied eight more times, the last at 31-31, the Broncs used Webber's seventh kill of the match and a Bearcat attack error to escape with the win.

The match had 19 ties, 13 in the fourth and final set.

Also for the Broncs against Binghamton, sophomore McKayla Huntley (Lake Stevens, Wash./Lake Stevens) had five blocks.

Against BCU, Griffin again led the offense with 17 kills and an attack percentage of .343.

Sophomore Ryan Ackermann (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) added 14 kills (hitting .370) while compiling eight digs and Amatulli added 30 more assists.

Amatulli has 2,320 assists, fourth most in Rider history.

Webber, Hill and sophomore Alaina Piszczek (Sinking Spring, Pa./Berks Catholic) each had 10 digs for the Broncs with Hill adding 16 assists for a 'double-double'.

A 91-match veteran, Webber, who reached 1,000 career points in Rider's MAAC win over Saint Peter's on September 17, now has 940 digs and 912 kills in her Rider career.

“The records won't show it but the opponents we played today were really good,” Feliciano said.  “We knocked off two well coached and talented teams.  That's going to go a long way for us.”

Rider has had seven of 13 matches (6-7) go four sets this season, including all four this weekend.

Rider makes its annual Western, New York trip with Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference matches at Niagara (September 27) and Canisius (September 28).

“We got a lot accomplished with a tough non-conference schedule,” Feliciano added.  “The teams that we faced and the experiences we went through are only going to help us as we continue into conference play.”

-RU-