FAIRFIELD, CT – Sophomore outside hitter Meredith Pellegrino (Norwalk, CT/Brien McMahon) recorded a match-high 16 kills to lead the visiting Rider University women's volleyball team past Quinnipiac, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action at Burt Kahn Court.

The Broncs (11-9, 6-5 MAAC) won their third league match in a row, while the Bobcats (5-18, 4-9 MAAC) saw their two-match winning streak come to an end. Rider won by scores of 25-22, 19-25, 25-21 and 25-23 to complete the regular-season sweep of Quinnipiac.

Leading, 2-1, the Broncs fell behind early in the fourth frame. Rider would answer, but Quinnipiac would build its lead to 21-19. The two teams would split the next four points forcing the Broncs to call a timeout down 23-21. The guests answered scoring the final four points of the match capped by a block from junior Alexa Shello (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central).   

Leading the charge offensively for Rider was Pellegrino. It marked the fifth conference match this fall in which Pellegrino recorded 10 or more kills and it was her second straight with 15 or more kills. Other Broncs making an impact offensively were senior Hailey Riede (Haworth, NJ/Northern Valley-Demarest) and Shello. Riede recorded 14 kills and Shello registered 12 kills of her own.  

In the middle, freshman setter Anilee Sher (Poughkeepsie, NY/Spackenkill) continued her strong first collegiate season with her team-leading 12th double-double. Sher dished out 52 assists and added 16 digs.

On the defensive end, junior libero Rachelle Runyon (Aliso Viejo, CA/Aliso Niguel) had another solid match for the Broncs with 20 digs. Sophomore Danielle Blanco (El Paso, TX/Franklin) contributed nine digs on the backline for the Broncs.  

NOTES & QUOTES
"It was a gritty win today. We overcame some major obstacles. The team has been really focused on the little things. To their credit when things tightened up this weekend they remained themselves and stuck with the game plan. After we lost the second set the staff identified that our serving and first touch were not meeting our standard. Ellen Paddock lead the way from the service line and she allowed us to return back to form." – Rider Head Coach Chris Feliciano

"Alexa Shello had the best match of her collegiate career. Her development has been steady. During the comeback in the fourth set she played a major role on the block." – Feliciano

- Rider had 56 kills, 55 assists, three service aces, a season-high 15 total blocks and 60 digs.
- The Broncs took advantage of 25 Quinnipiac attack errors

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Runyon had 10 or more digs for the 18th straight match.   
- On the weekend, Pellegrino had 31 kills in seven sets versus Fairfield and Quinnipiac.
- Perry Williams tied a season-high with seven block assists. It was her fourth match with seven block assists this year.
- Sher had 50 or more assists for the third time this fall.
- Shello had 10 or more kills for the fourth time in 2018. She tied a career-high with two block assists.    

UP NEXT
Rider returns to action on Wednesday, October 24, with a home non-conference clash against in-state rival Fairleigh Dickinson that is slated to begin at 7:00 pm. The Broncs have won four straight matches against the Knights.