LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Sophomore outside hitter Meredith Pellegrino (Norwalk, CT/Brien McMahon) and senior middle hitter Perry Williams (Portland, OR/Cleveland) combined for 30 kills to lead the Rider University women's volleyball team past visiting Fairleigh Dickinson, 3-1, on Wednesday evening in non-conference action at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Broncs (12-9) won their fourth match in a row, while the Knights (2-22) have now dropped 13 matches in a row. Rider won by scores of 25-15, 25-17, 21-25 and 25-17 close out their non-conference slate with a victory.

After jumping out to a big 2-0 lead with a pair of strong performances in the first two games, the Broncs fell in the third game. Rider answered in the fourth frame and came out strong thanks to scoring the first five points. The hosts also ended the match on a high note, registering five of the final six points.    

Leading the charge offensively for Rider was Pellegrino. She had 16 kills and an impressive .351 hitting percentage, while Williams added 14 kills and a match-best .385 hitting percentage. Other Broncs making an impact offensively were senior Hailey Riede (Haworth, NJ/Northern Valley-Demarest) and junior Alexa Shello (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central). Riede recorded 11 kills and Shello registered six kills of her own.  

In the middle, freshman setter Anilee Sher (Poughkeepsie, NY/Spackenkill) continued her strong first collegiate season with her team-leading 13th double-double. Sher dished out 40 assists and added 10 digs.

On the defensive end, junior libero Rachelle Runyon (Aliso Viejo, CA/Aliso Niguel) had another solid match for the Broncs with 24 digs. Sophomore Danielle Blanco (El Paso, TX/Franklin) contributed 18 digs on the backline for the Broncs, while classmate Brynn Sherbet (Temecula, CA/Great Oak) chipped in 11 digs.  

NOTES & QUOTES
"We've been stressing the importance of our midweek matches, especially with a big one coming up against Manhattan. It was a good win. We held them under 20 points in three times. We fell apart a little in the third set, but we came back strong in the fourth. We're hoping to take this momentum up to Marist on Saturday." – Rider Head Coach Chris Feliciano

- Rider had 58 kills, 53 assists, nine service aces, nine total blocks and 72 digs.
- Rider had a team attack percentage of .433 in the first game.
- Rider had 15 kills in both the first and second games.
- The Broncs had 16 kills in the final frame.
- The Broncs had five total blocks at the net in the second game.
- Rider held Fairleigh Dickinson under 20 points in three of the four games.
- Rider has now won five matches in a row against FDU. The Broncs lead the all-time series, 32-18.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Runyon had 10 or more digs for the 19th straight match. It was her sixth match this fall with 20 or more digs and her second in a row.   
- Perry Williams started off well. She accounted for nine points (7 kills, 1 BS and 2 BA) in the first game.  
- Pellegrino was named the MAAC Player of the Week on Tuesday. She recorded 15 or more kills for the third match in a row. It was her fifth match this fall with 14 or more kills.
- Riede had 10 or more kills for the 11th match this autumn.
- Sherbert had 10 or more kills for the seventh time in 2018.
- Blanco's 18 digs were a season-high and it tied her career-high.

UP NEXT
Rider returns to action this weekend with a pair of road Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) matches. The Broncs get action underway on Saturday at Marist at 1:00 pm before heading to Albany to take on Siena at 1:00 pm on Sunday.