College Volleyball
Rider University 3, St. Francis Brooklyn 1

LAWRENCEIVLLE—Led by 34 assists, nine digs, five kills and three service aces from junior Veronica Koval (Allentown, PA/Parkland), the Rider University volleyball team won the 2016 home opener, defeating the Terriers of St. Francis Brooklyn 3-1 on Wednesday night in Alumni Gymnasium.

Rider won 25-23, 25-19, 20-25, 25-23.

“We are still finding our way,” said head coach Christopher Feliciano who has now amassed 197 career wins.  “I felt after the second set, we kind of took a step back and reflected on the sets that we just won and we lost our focus.  You don't get bonus points for winning a set.  It's a process.  I'll take a win any day of the week but it wasn't pretty.  We made a ton of errors.”

Koval attacked .364 for the match and made only one error.

“As a team, we held our own in the opening two sets,” Koval said.  “We kind of went into cruise control and we also did that this past weekend and it didn't work out for us.  Set three tonight, it cost us again.  Coming into the fourth set, we all came together and used our energy and said we aren't going to lose this set.  We kicked into that gear that we needed to and I'm proud of my teammates for that.”

Trailing 22-18 in the fourth and final set, Rider (2-2) went on a 7-1 run, with Koval serving five straight points to clinch the match.

“You got an opportunity to see what Veronica is capable of,” Feliciano said.  “She played solid.  Set three was a little up and down but what's excellent is that she made adjustments and was instrumental in that last run to help put the match away.  She is a student of the game and is only going to get better.  She is a great mentor for her teammates and has a lot of intangibles that will make our team stronger.”

Also for the Broncs, senior Ryan Ackermann (Ashburn, VA/Stone Bridge) had 11 kills, with junior Jennifer Borio (Ridley Park, PA/Padua Academy) and sophomore Hailey Riede (Haworth/Northern Valley-Demarest) each adding 10 kills.  Riede also had four blocks.

Junior Emma Aldaya (Prospect Park, PA/Merion Mercy Academy) led Rider with 21 digs and added two service aces.  Aldaya was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Libero of the Week for all matches the opening week of the season as she averaged almost four digs per set.

Freshman Evelyn Shanefield (Drexel Hill, PA/Upper Darby) had six blocks for Rider.

The match had 23 ties and 10 lead changes and took one hour and 53 minutes in front of over 200 fans in Alumni Gym.

“The experience of winning at home is important,” Feliciano said.  “Not a lot of teams can say they have won their home opener.  The freshmen can say they won their first home opener and the seniors can say they won their last opener at home.  Those things in the long run are important in establishing a winning culture for any program.  Your home court is where you practice and you want to have positive thoughts and memories when you are in Alumni Gym.  Having that great feeling is imperative.”

Rider has won its last five home openers in a row including a 3-0 MAAC win against Iona in 2015, a 3-1 effort against FDU in 2014, a 3-0 sweep vs. La Salle in 2013 and a 3-0 win against Howard in 2012.

Rider won seven of nine home matches in Alumni Gym last season and the Broncs are now 18-5 in their last 23 home matches, dating back to 2013.

The Broncs have won 24 of 25 matches all-time against St. Francis Brooklyn.

“St. Francis played a lot better defensively tonight than I've seen in the past years,” Feliciano said.  “They are athletic, they fought back and almost tied the match at two sets apiece and they are going to be very competitive in their conference.”

Rider had 14 kills and 15 kills respectively in the opening two sets before being held to four kills in set three as the Terriers made their comeback.

“We need to do a better job and recognize when we get into a mental rut,” Feliciano said.  “If we let one point just equal one point; that will be the difference if this team wants to be good or wants to be great.  We are still feeling our way out with the mental adjustments.  It's a process.”

Rider travels to the Maryland Eastern Shore Invitational, taking on American, South Carolina State, Navy and the host Hawks of UMES September 2-3.

The Broncs return home on September 17 for a MAAC match against Quinnipiac at 1pm.

-RU-