LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – With a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Siena on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gym, the Rider University volleyball team clinched the No. 4 seed in next weekend's MAAC Championships. The win pushed the Broncs to 16-13 (10-7 MAAC) and gave Rider the season sweep over the Saints (10-17, 9-8 MAAC). 

Veronica Koval (Allentown, PA/Parkland) led the way for Rider with 38 assists and 16 digs, while Kaitlyn Griffin (Chesapeake, VA/Hickory) had a team-best 11 kills. Jennifer Borio (Ridley Park, PA/Padua Academy) and Hailey Riede (Haworth, NJ/Northern Valley-Demarest) contributed 10 kills apiece. Emma Aldaya (Prospect Park, PA/Merion Mercy Academy) had 15 digs and Ryan Ackermann (Ashburn, VA/Stone Bridge) chipped in with seven kills and 10 digs. 

“Today was a great win for us,” said Rider Head Coach Chris Feliciano. “We're guaranteed a winning season. Our four-year student-athletes will be the first four-year student-athletes to graduate with a record above .500 in a long time. We have both tie-breakers against Niagara and Siena, so the lowest we can finish is fourth, and that's good for the best in program history. And it's probably the first time we've ever swept Siena. There are just a lot of things that our kids accomplished today.”

The Broncs took the first set, 25-22, before the Saints battled back to take the second set by the same margin. Siena led the third set, 5-0 and 7-1, before the Broncs stormed back with six-straight points to tie the set. On the strength of 10 assists and five digs from Koval and five kills from Borio, the Broncs retook control of the match with a 25-23 set victory. 

“I think on the court, we all believed in each other,” said Koval. “It was just a matter of putting the ball away. Once we put one ball away, it was done. And I think our team is pretty good at that. One time last year, our team was down 13-1 and almost came back and won the set. We all have that fight in us.” 

Rider maintained a lead for the majority of the decisive fourth set to claim the set, 25-22, and the match victory.  

“The kids fought really hard,” said Feliciano. “We had to deal with some frustration. We're usually really good at winning long rallies and I believe Siena outplayed us a lot today. I'll give them respect and credit. Our kids were able to overcome their frustration and compensate well. Once we got past that, we were free-flowing and did a really nice job today.”

The Broncs wrap up the regular season Sunday, when they face Marist. Prior to the 1 p.m. first serve, Rider will honor its three seniors on Senior Day.