EASTON, PA – The Rider University volleyball team closed out the season-opening Crosstown Tournament at Lafayette by splitting a pair of matches on Saturday afternoon. The Broncs fell to Rutgers, 3-0, in the first match of the day before rallying to defeat the host Leopards, 3-2, in the finale.

Rider (1-2) bounced back versus Lafayette. Trailing, 2-0, the Broncs won the final three games to pick up their first win of the year. Clinging to 9-7 edge in the deciding set, Rider called a timeout and scored the final six points capped by a kill from senior middle Perry Williams (Portland, OR/Cleveland).

In the match with the Leopards, senior Savannah Logan (Jupiter, FL/Benjamin) paced the Rider attack with a career-high 16 kills. Williams added 11 kills and boasted an impressive .579 hitting percentage, while junior Alexa Shello (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central) had a career-best 10 kills. In the middle, freshman Anilee Sher (Poughkeepsie, NY/Spackenkill) was stellar with 55 assists, nine digs, two service aces and three block assists.

Defensively against the Leopards, junior Rachelle Runyon (Aliso Viejo, CA/Aliso Niguel) recorded 14 digs, while both Sher and sophomore Danielle Blanco (El Paso, TX/Franklin) each had nine of their own. At the net, Williams had one solo block and seven block assists.

In the opener, in-state rival Rutgers blanked the Broncs. Logan and Shello combined for 16 kills total.

NOTES & QUOTES
"The game against Lafayette was a total team win. The team never gave up and to their credit trusted the adjustments that needed to be made." – Rider Head Coach Chris Feliciano

- It was the first meeting between the Broncs and Scarlet Knights since 2016, while Rider played Lafayette for the first time since 2015.
- As a team, Rider had 33 kills, four blocks, 31 assists and 30 digs.
- As a team, the Broncs had 59 kills, hit .279 as a team, nine blocks, 61 digs and seven aces.
- Feliciano now has 99 career wins at the helm of the program.
- In the third set against Rutgers, the Broncs hit .310 as a team and had 13 kills.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- After having 12 kills all of last season, Shello has racked up 20 kills though three matches this fall.
- Sher's 55 assists were the most for a Bronc since Veronica Koval had 55 last September against Fairleigh Dickinson.
- Three Rider players had 10 or more kills against Lafayette.
- Williams now has three solo blocks and seven block assists on the season.

UP NEXT
Rider travels to face St. Francis Brooklyn on Tuesday, September 4. The Broncs defeated the Terriers twice last season and have won 26 of 27 all-time meetings with SFBK.