Lawrenceville, NJ – It was a night to remember for senior Veronica Koval (Allentown, PA/Parkland) as she led the Rider University volleyball team past visiting Manhattan, 3-1, on Wednesday evening in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play inside Alumni Gymnasium. The Broncs earned the season sweep of the Jaspers with a 13-25, 25-20, 25-17 and 25-20 victory.

In the fourth set, Koval set a new program record with 2,992 career assists. Her 38th assist of the evening put her all alone atop the Rider record books.

After dropping the first set, the Broncs (15-14, 9-8 MAAC) bounced back winning three straight sets. In the first set, Manhattan (2-26, 2-14) took advantage of 11 Rider attack errors. The start of the second set was key for the hosts as Rider scored the seven points of the frame to take the momentum back.

Offensively, junior Hailey Riede (Haworth, NJ/Northern Valley-Demarest) paced the Rider attack with 17 kills and an impressive .472 attack percentage. The third-year right-side hitter accounted for nearly half of the team's kills on the evening. Senior Jennifer Borio (Ridley Park, PA/Padua Academy) chipped in 10 kills, while sophomore middle blocker Evelyn Shanefield (Drexel Hill, PA/Upper Darby) added nine kills of her own. Juniors Perry Williams (Portland, OR/Cleveland) and Savannah Logan (Jupiter, FL/Benjamin) contributed six kills apiece for the Broncs.

Koval (Allentown, PA/Parkland) was solid on both sides of the ball for the hosts as she stuffed the stat sheet once again. Koval finished with 41 assists and 11 digs.

Defensively, senior tri-captain Emma Aldaya (Prospect Park, PA/Merion Mercy Academy) played well with 24 digs. Sophomore Rachelle Runyon (Aliso Viejo, CA/Aliso Niguel) and freshman Brynn Sherbert (Temecula, CA/Great Oak) both added 12 digs apiece for the Broncs.  

Notes & Quotes
"We need to figure out how we are going to balance our anxiety," Rider Head Coach Chris Feliciano said. "We saw it last year in the playoffs. Today, we basically gave Manhattan the first set and that's just nerves it's not who we are. To their credit they bounced back in the second set and really took it to them. The third set we seized control of the match and in the fourth set we came out victorious in the critical moments. We put ourselves in a really good position."

"Honestly, I couldn't set the ball without my passers and I couldn't get an assist without any of my hitters," Koval said. "Basically, this award is their award. It feels pretty cool. Breaking the record hasn't really set in yet."

- Rider had 51 kills, 71 digs and 11 total blocks.
- Rider has one MAAC match remaining (on Saturday versus Saint Peter's at home).
- The Broncs are 6-4 at home this season and 8-4 inside the Ocean State.
- Four Broncs had 10 or more digs in the match.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Koval has had 25 or more assists in 25 matches this season, including 20 straight. She passed Kathy Thompson on the career assist and now has 2,995 as she has sights on becoming the first player in program history with 3,000 assists. The double-double was her team-leading 12th of the 2017. She is the only Bronc with a double-double this year.
- Riede has a team-best 333 kills in 2017. In conference play, she is averaging over 12 kills per match. She is now ninth all-time in Rider history with 952 career kills. Her 17 kills tied a season-high and it marked her 15 match of the year with a hitting percentage over .300.   
- Aldaya has recorded 10 or more digs in 21 matches this season, including 12 times in MAAC play. It was Aldaya's ninth match with 20 or more digs.
- At the net, Shanefield had four solo blocks and four block assists. She accounted for 15 points on the night.

Up Next
The Broncs return to action and close out their 2017 non-conference slate on Friday, November 10, with a home match versus Coppin State that is slated to begin at 1:00 pm. Rider is looking for their third straight non-conference win. The meeting is the third-ever between the Broncs and the Eagles with Rider in search of their first victory against CSU since 1989. The contest will feature both live stats and video. For links visit the women's volleyball schedule page on GoBroncs.com.