Friday, November 22, 2019
MAAC Tournament First Round
#3 Rider Broncs (15-15, 12-6 MAAC) vs. #6 Quinnipiac Bobcats (12-15, 8-10 MAAC)
Location: Fairfield, CT (Alumni Hall)
Start Time: 5:00 PM
Live Stats: SideArm Stats
Live Video: ESPN+
How to Access ESPN+: Click here
Tickets: TicketLeap
Twitter Updates: @RUBroncsVB
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Rider is in its first season under new Head Coach Jeff Rotondo. In April of 2019, Rotondo became the ninth coach in program history. He came to Lawrenceville after a highly successful run as the Head Coach of Division II Holy Family. Rotondo earned his first career win at the helm of the program on September 7th versus Norfolk State. In late October, he earned his 100th career win as a Head Coach after the Broncs defeated Marist, 3-0.
 
- Rider was picked to finish sixth in the MAAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll for the second straight season. The Broncs also saw senior Rachelle Runyon named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team as a libero.
 
- Rider earned the number three seed in the MAAC Tournament thanks to posting a record of 12-6 in league play. The Broncs tied program-bests in conference wins (12) and tournament seeding (third). It is the third time in program history that the Broncs enter the MAAC Tournament as the No. 3 seed. Rider has won 10 or more MAAC matches in each of the last six seasons.
 
- The Broncs are playing in the MAAC Volleyball Championship for the sixth year in a row. Rider is looking to advance to the MAAC Semifinals for the second year in a row and the third time in program history. Rider is 2-2 all-time in the MAAC Tournament as the number three seed.
 
- It will mark the first-ever meeting between Rider and Quinnipiac in the MAAC Tournament. The Broncs lead the all-time series with the Bobcats, 10-9. Rider swept the regular-season series with QU, winning both matches, 3-0. The Broncs have won four straight matches against Quinnipiac.
 
- Freshman Morgan Romano has made an immediate impact with the team this fall. She has been named the MAAC Rookie of the Week a conference-best 12 times already in 2019. She has also been named the MAAC Player of the Week twice this season.
 
- Romano currently leads the MAAC in total kills (510), kills per set (4.59), total points (576.0) and points per set (5.19). She has also registered a team-high 12 double-doubles this autumn. Romano is third in the nation in both total points and total kills.
 
- She has become the first Bronc freshman to record over 500 kills since Amy Ford had 526 in 1992. Her 510 kills entering the MAAC Tournament are the fourth-most in a single season in program history. It is the most kills by a Broncs since Amy Ford had 522 in 1993. She has the most kills and kills per set by a player in the MAAC since 2009 when Siena's Burgandy McCurty had 575 kills and 5.37 kills per set.    
 
- As a team, Rider leads the MAAC in assists (1,307), total blocks (239.5) and blocks per set (2.16).  
 
- Rachelle Runyon has been named the MAAC Libero of the Week three times this year. Runyon has 543 digs this season and she is averaging 4.89 digs per set. She recently became the fifth player in program history to record over 1,500 career digs. She currently has 1,583 digs and she recently moved into third-place all-time at Rider. This year, she has registered 20 or more digs in a match 13 times. Last weekend, she became just the second-player in program history with multiple 500-dig seasons.   
 
- Sophomore setter Anilee Sher has recorded 11 double-doubles for the Broncs in 2019. Last weekend, she became the sixth player in program history with 2,000 career assists. This year, she has a conference-leading 1,092 assists and she is averaging 10.92 assists per set. Last week, she became the first player in Rider history with two seasons of over 1,000 assists.  
 
- Senior Evelyn Shanefield registered a career-high 11 total blocks last time Rider played Quinnipiac. It was her strongest match of the season. She had two solo blocks, nine block assists and four kills versus the Bobcats. She became just the third player in program with over 270 career block assists. She is just one block assist away from moving into second-place in program history.
 
- Freshman Morgan Koch leads the MAAC in block assists (106). She also ranks second in the conference in total blocks (111) and third in blocks per set at 1.02. Recently, she became the seventh player in program history to register 100 block assists in a season.