Lawrenceville, NJ – The Rider University volleyball team fell at home to visiting Niagara, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action inside Alumni Gymnasium. The Broncs (6-7, 1-1 MAAC) saw their two-game winning streak come to an end, while the Purple Eagles (6-5, 2-0 MAAC) netted their fifth consecutive win.

Niagara edged Rider in a tightly contested match by scores of 29-31, 30-28, 25-14 and 25-23. As a team, the Broncs had 58 kills, 87 digs and accounted for 65.0 points.

Junior Hailey Riede (Haworth, NJ/Northern Valley-Demarest) paced the Rider attack with 17 kills and a .317 hitting percentage. It was the sixth match this season in which she had an attack percentage over .300 for the Broncs. Meredith Pellegrino (Norwalk, CT/Brien McMahon) and junior Savannah Logan (Jupiter, FL/Benjamin) both contributed 11 kills apiece for the hosts.

Defensively, sophomore Rachelle Runyon (Aliso Viejo, CA/Aliso Niguel) had a career-high 20 digs for the Broncs, while senior Emma Aldaya (Prospect Park, PA/Merion Mercy Academy) chipped in 16 digs.

Notes & Quotes
"We made too many critical errors when the game was on the line," Rider Head Coach Chris Feliciano said. "We got away with it in set one and found a way to win. We have to be able to play better and cleaner volleyball."

- Veronica Koval was named the MAAC Player of the Week on Tuesday afternoon. She became the first Bronc to earn league-wide distinction this season and she picked up weekly accolades for the first time in her career. Last week, she averaged 9.79 assists per set and recorded a pair of double-doubles as Rider went 2-2 at the 12th Annual Friar Classic hosted by Providence College.
- The 87 digs as a team were the second-highest total for the Broncs this season.
- Rider is now 2-1 at home this season and the squad is 3-1 in the Garden State.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Five different Broncs had 10 or more digs. It was the second time in 2017 that five Rider players had 10 or more digs in a match.
- Three different Broncs had 10 or more kills.
- Riede has now reached double-digits in kills in a match six times this fall, including five matches in a row. The 17 kills by Riede were a season-best.
- Blanco has registered 10 or more digs seven times.
- Aldaya is now 10 digs away from setting a new program record. The senior tri-captain has 1,821 career digs.
- Koval had a double-double for the Broncs thanks to dishing out 47 assists and recording 14 digs. It was her team-best fifth double-double in 2017. She has now had 40 or more assists three times this year and it was the first time she accomplished the feat at home.
- The 11 kills were a season-high for Pellegrino. It was the first time she topped the double-digit kill plateau in her career.

Up Next
Rider returns to action next weekend, September 23-24, traveling to Connecticut to face Fairfield and Quinnipiac. The Broncs take on the Stags on Saturday afternoon before traveling across the state to square off with the Bobcats for a Sunday matinee. The team is looking to avenge a pair of setbacks to both Fairfield and Quinnipiac last season. The contests will feature both live stats and video. For links visit the women's volleyball schedule page on GoBroncs.com.