LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Senior Savannah Logan (Jupiter, FL/Benjamin) recorded her sixth double-double of the season to lead the Rider University volleyball team past visiting Niagara, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action inside Alumni Gymnasium. The Broncs topped the Purple Eagles by scores of 25-12, 25-22 and 25-17.

The Broncs (9-9, 5-5 MAAC) ended a two-match losing streak with the victory, while Niagara (6-13, 6-4 MAAC) saw their three-match winning streak come to an end.

Rider was dominant from the get-go. The Broncs had 16 kills and a team-hitting of .382 in the first set. In the second frame, Rider scored four of the final five points to take a commanding a 2-0 edge. The Broncs pulled away in the third game as a kill from senior Perry Williams (Portland, OR/Cleveland) sealed the victory.  

Leading the charge offensively for Rider was Logan with a match-high 13 kills. She also added 12 digs for the Broncs.  Other Broncs making an impact offensively were senior Hailey Riede (Haworth, NJ/Northern Valley-Demarest) with 11 kills, while junior Alexa Shello (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central) chipped in nine kills.

In the middle, freshman setter Anilee Sher (Poughkeepsie, NY/Spackenkill) continued her steady play with 38 assists and nine digs.

At the net, Williams was a force. She had seven kills to go along with four solo blocks and two block assists. She racked up a .462 hitting percentage.

On the defensive end, junior libero Rachelle Runyon (Aliso Viejo, CA/Aliso Niguel) continued her strong play with 12 digs. Sophomore Danielle Blanco (El Paso, TX/Franklin) contributed 12 digs on the backline for the Broncs.   

NOTES & QUOTES
"We told the team yesterday that this was a must-win game. We know that every team in league qualifies for the playoffs. But that's just not our goal. We want to be a four or a five seed. We want to go down to Florida and make an impact." – Rider Head Coach Chris Feliciano

"We had to have this one. You never want to be under .500 in league play and fall below your standard. In sets one and three we played well. Our first touch was much better today. It allowed our second touch to be more in rhythm. Our hitters did a nice job transitioning and becoming available. We had a sense of calmness today." – Feliciano

- Rider had 45 kills, 42 assists, eight total blocks and 55 digs.
- The Broncs took advantage of 18 Niagara attack errors and six Purple Eagle service errors.
- Rider completed the regular-season sweep of Niagara with the win.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Runyon had 10 or more digs for the 16th straight match.   
- Logan has set a new career-high in digs this season with 158. She also leads the team in kills in 2018 with 177. It was her ninth match with 10 or more kills.
- Hailey Riede registered 10 or more kills for the ninth time this season. She had a season-best .476 hitting percentage. It marked the third time this fall that she recorded a hitting percentage over .400 in a match.
- Perry Williams had a hitting percentage over .400 for the third match in 2018.
- Brynn Sherbert had seven digs for the Broncs.   

UP NEXT
Rider returns to action next weekend with a pair of MAAC matches in the Constitution State. The Broncs open up against defending conference champion Fairfield on Saturday at 1:00 pm before taking on Quinnipiac on Sunday afternoon.