Women's College Volleyball

Rider University 3, Iona College 2

NEW ROCHELLE, NY—For the second time this season Rider came back from an 0-2 deficit to win a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match.

“There is one thing about this group of young ladies, they have tremendous heart,” said Rider head coach Chris Feliciano.  “They find ways to recover. To come back one time down by two was a great thing but to do it twice is amazing. A little stressful, but amazing.”

Rider also came back from an 0-2 deficit October 9 to win at Siena, the first time the Broncs accomplished that feat since August of 2012.

Rider (14-13, 8-7 MAAC) won the third set 25-17 and the fourth set 25-16, before winning the fifth and deciding set 15-8.

Iona (5-21, 3-10 MAAC) won the first set 25-21 and the second set 27-25.

The Broncs were led by senior Kaitlyn Griffin (Chesapeake, VA/Hickory), who had 11 kills, hitting at a .444 percentage. “Kaitlyn Griffin played a complete match,” Feliciano said.  “She fueled the comeback.”

Griffin added two service aces, four digs and four block assists. “I thought her serving created separation forcing Iona out of system; which in turn gave us more confidence and resulted for us to be in system more frequently in the third and fourth sets," Feliciano said.  “She did a nice job.”

Senior Ryan Ackermann (Ashburn, VA/Stone Bridge) added 10 kills and 23 digs. “Ryan did a great job,” Feliciano said.

Junior Veronica Koval (Allentown, PA/Parkland) had 42 assists and 14 digs, along with three service aces. “Veronica played well,” Feliciano said.

Sophomore Hailey Riede (Haworth/Northern Valley-Demarest) had 12 kills.

Junior  Emma Aldaya (Prospect Park, PA/Merion Mercy Academy) added 19 digs and four service aces.

The Broncs defeated Iona 3-1 earlier this season at Rider. Iona leads the all-time series 27-8, with Rider winning three of the last four meetings. “The improvement of the program, the players and the player development has continued to grow the program,” Feliciano said. “We've gotten better playing the game with kids who play the game the right way. We've gone from rebuilding to being relevant.”

Rider finishes the regular season with three home matches, starting this Saturday at 12 noon, hosting Saint Peter's. “Can't wait to be home,” Feliciano said. “I am so over being on the road. We love playing at home and hopefully we can win in front of the home fans.”

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