NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Rider University volleyball team lost to host Iona, 3-2, on Wednesday evening in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action inside the Hynes Athletic Center. The Broncs fell by scores of 25-27, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23 and 15-13.

Rider (7-7, 3-4 MAAC) has now dropped back-to-back conference clashes, while the Gaels (7-5, 5-1 MAAC) have won five of their first six conference contests.

The two teams went back-and-forth all match long. During the first four frames, the first team to score 20 points in each set would go on to lose. In the final game, the Broncs took a 13-12 edge following an Iona attack error. The hosts would answer by scoring the finale three points of the frame to escape with the victory.   

Offensively, seniors Savannah Logan (Jupiter, FL/Benjamin) and Hailey Riede (Haworth, NJ/Northern Valley-Demarest) paced the Broncs attack with 15 kills apiece. Junior Alexa Shello (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central) chipped in 12 kills for Rider.

In the middle, freshman Anilee Sher (Poughkeepsie, NY/Spackenkill) returned to the lineup and recorded another double-double thanks to a 44-assist, 16-dig performance.  

On the defensive end, junior libero Rachelle Runyon (Aliso Viejo, CA/Aliso Niguel) continued her strong play with a career-high 37 digs. Logan also had a double-double for the Broncs as she registered a career-high 27 digs. Also on the backend, sophomore Danielle Blanco (El Paso, TX/Frankilin) contributed 12 digs, while classmate Brynn Sherbert (Temecula, CA/Great Oak) had 10 of her own.

NOTES & QUOTES
"I can't ask for anything more from this group outside of a win. They fought throughout the match and never gave up. It was a complete 180 from the effort and performance on Sunday. They should be proud of their effort." – Rider Head Coach Chris Feliciano

- The loss snapped a four-match winning streak for the Broncs against the Gaels.
- The two teams combined for 64 attack errors. Rider had 31 and Iona had 33.
- The Broncs had 52 kills, a season-high 15 total blocks, 48 assists, six service aces and a season-high 111 digs.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Runyon had 10 or more digs for the 12th straight match. It marked the second time this season and the third time in her career that she recorded more than 20 digs in a match. It was the first time she registered more than 30 digs in a match.  
- Savannah Logan now has 141 digs on the season, which is a new career-high. The double-double was her fifth of the season.  
- Hailey Riede is currently tied for fourth in program history with 1,118 kills. She is five kills from entering the top-three in Rider's history.
- The double-double was Sher's team-leading eighth of the season.     

UP NEXT
Rider returns to action at home on Saturday, October 6, with a MAAC contest with hOURglass rival Saint Peter's that is slated to begin at 1:00 pm inside Alumni Gymnasium. The Broncs have won 16 straight matches against the Peacocks thanks to sweeping the regular-season series in each of the last eight seasons.