NIAGARA FALLS, NY – The Rider University volleyball team swept host Niagara, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action. The Broncs won by scores of 25-17, 25-15 and 25-19.

Rider (6-4, 2-1 MAAC) swept their second conference match of the fall, while the Purple Eagles (1-11, 1-2 MAAC) dropped their second league contest in a row.

The Broncs had one of their best matches of the season to bounce back after a five-game setback to Fairfield last time out. Rider amassed 48 kills and hit .318 as a team.  

Offensively, senior Hailey Riede (Haworth, NJ/Northern Valley-Demarest) paced the Rider attack with 14 kills and a season-best .429 attack percentage. Sophomore Meredith Pellegrino (Norwalk, CT/Brien McMahon) chipped in 10 kills for the Broncs, while junior Evelyn Shanefield (Drexel Hill, PA/Upper Darby) added seven kills of her own.

In the middle, freshman Anilee Sher (Poughkeepsie, NY/Spackenkill) continued her strong play with another double-double thanks to 34-assist, 10-dig performance. She has now recorded a double-double in back-to-back MAAC matches.

On the defensive end, sophomore Danielle Blanco (El Paso, TX/Franklin) had a team-high 12 digs, while both Sher and junior Rachelle Runyon (Aliso Viejo, CA/Aliso Niguel) contributed 10 digs apiece.

NOTES & QUOTES
"I knew that a match like this was coming after we dropped the Fairfield match the way we did. There was a different level of focus in the team this week. " – Rider Head Coach Chris Feliciano

- As a team, Rider had 60 points. The Broncs had 48 kills, 51 digs and eight aces.
- Rider got off to quick start with 17 kills in the first game and followed that up 19 kills and team hitting percentage of .545 in the second frame.
- The Broncs snapped a two-match losing streak to the Purple Eagles with the win.
- Niagara leads the all-time series, 22-13.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Sher registered her team-leading sixth double-double of the year. She also added three kills and four service aces for the Broncs.
- Riede leads the team in hitting percentage (.284) and kills per set (3.46). It marked her fifth match of the year with 10 or more kills.
- Blanco had 12 or more digs for the second match in a row and the third time this season.
- Pellegrino had 10 or more kills for the second match in a row.

UP NEXT
Rider closes out a weekend of MAAC action in Western New York on Sunday, September 23 with a match versus Canisius that is slated to begin at 1:00 pm. The tilt will be streamed live on ESPN3 as the Broncs are looking for their fifth straight win against the Griffs.