College Volleyball – BC Tournament
Feliciano 200th career win
Rider University 3, UMass. Lowell 0
Rider University 3, Fairleigh Dickinson University 0
Koval, Riede All-Tournament

CHESTNUT HILL, MA.—The Rider University volleyball team swept UMass. Lowell 3-0 and Fairleigh Dickinson University 3-0 on Saturday to go 2-1 at the Boston College Tournament and give Bronc head coach Christopher Feliciano career victory number 200 on Saturday afternoon.

Rider (5-6) defeated UML 25-20, 25-16, 30-28 on Saturday morning and knocked off the Knights of FDU 25-23, 25-21, 25-22 in the nightcap.

“I thought the team this weekend played extremely well,” said Feliciano who is in his sixth season at Rider.  “We saw a more fluid style of play which we've been striving for in practice.  I strongly believe that if we can continue the push of positive thinking and acceptance of responsibility we will continue to grow throughout the entire season.”

For the Broncs against FDU, sophomore Hailey Riede (Haworth/Northern Valley-Demarest) had 11 kills, three digs and two blocks while attacking .409 and senior Kaitlyn Griffin (Chesapeake, VA/Hickory) added 10 kills and three digs.

Junior Veronica Koval (Allentown, PA/Parkland) had 35 assists against the Knights and added six digs and a block with junior Emma Aldaya (Prospect Park, PA/Merion Mercy Academy) leading the squad with 13 digs.

Also for the Broncs against FDU, senior Ryan Ackermann (Ashburn, VA/Stone Bridge) had 10 digs and freshman Devyn Holland (Corona, CA/Santiago) also added 10 digs while serving two aces.

The match had 13 ties and five lead changes.

In the opener against UML, Koval had 26 assists, seven digs and two blocks with Riede attacking .421 as part of a 10 kill, four dig, one block effort.

Freshman Rachelle Runyon (Aliso Viejo, CA/Aliso Niguel) had five aces in the two matches for Rider.

Riede and Koval both earned all-tournament honors for Rider.

Riede attacked .375 in the three matches this weekend and averaged 3.45 kills per set with Koval averaging 2.09 digs per set in the 11 sets of the tournament.

Feliciano, now in his sixth season at Rider has 69 wins after compiling 131 wins at New Jersey City University.

“I'm just extremely grateful to have been blessed with opportunities to work with some amazing athletes,” Feliciano said about the milestone victory.  “Also for the people who have been patient with me as I continue to chase a childhood dream.  From Larry Schiner, Alice De Fazio, to Karin Torchia and Don Harnum, I've had some very good mentors who have displayed leadership practices to help me grow as a coach but more importantly as a man.”

The Broncs open Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play against Quinnipiac University on Saturday, September 17 at 1pm in Alumni Gymnasium.

-RU-