LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Senior outside hitter Alexa Shello (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central) recorded a career-high 15 kills to lead the Rider University women's volleyball team past visiting Niagara, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action inside Alumni Gymnaisum.
 
The Broncs (13-13, 10-4 MAAC) split the regular-season series with the Purple Eagles (10-13, 9-4 MAAC) thanks to winning by scores of 25-18, 37-35 and 25-23.
 
After taking the opening set, Rider outlasted Niagara second frame. Trailing 24-21 in the second set, Rider reeled off three straight points to tie it at 24 following a Purple Eagle attack error. The Broncs fought off six different set points in the back-and-forth frame before a kill from freshman Morgan Romano (Oviedo, FL/Hagerty) and a Niagara attack error gave the guests the 2-0 lead.
 
Offensively, Romano and Shello paced the Rider attack. Romano had a match-high 17 kills to go along with 14 digs to record her third double-double in a row, while Shello added a career-best 15 kills with a match-high .412 attack percentage.
 
Sophomore setter Anilee Sher (Poughkeepsie, NY/Spackenkill) was outstanding in the middle for the Broncs once again. She had another double-double thanks to a 49-assist, 11-dig performance.
 
Defensively, four different Broncs had 10 or more digs. Senior Libero Rachelle Runyon (Aliso Viejo, CA/Aliso Niguel) became just the fifth player in program history to record over 1,500 career digs.
 
NOTES & QUOTES
"The second set was crazy to watch. When we realized we were in sub trouble the score was only in the low 20s. There were so many good plays happening on both sides of the net. We were just looking for a way to shadow the weakness that we had. It worked out in our favor. If it didn't the match could have been very different. Alexa had seven kills in each of the first two sets and she really set the tone for us and she made a huge impact." - Rider Head Coach Jeff Rotondo
 
- Rider improved to 10-4 in the MAAC with the win. It marked the sixth straight year that the Broncs have won 10 or more conference games in a season.
- Jeff Rotondo became the first Head Coach in program history to win 10 MAAC matches in his first season.
- The Broncs have now won three of their last four matches against Niagara.
- Rider is 5-2 at home this season.
- As a team, Rider had 63 points, 56 kills, four service aces, three blocks and 65 digs.
 
BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Romano has now recorded three double-doubles in a row. She has 447 kills on the year. That is the most by a Rider player since Amy Ford had 522 in 1993. On the season, she also has 500.5 points. She is the first Bronc with over 500 points in a season since Amy Ford had 514 in 1995.
- Anilee Sher had a monster weekend for Rider. In two victories, she averaged 15.43 assists per set and 4.57 digs per set. Sher is 20 assists away from becoming just the sixth player in Rider's history to register 2,000 career assists.
- Runyon had 13 digs for the Broncs. It was her 24th match of the year with 10 or more digs. In her career she now has 1508 career digs. She is 68 digs away from moving into third-place in program history.
- It was Shello's fifth match this fall with 10 or more kills.
 
UP NEXT
Rider returns to action next weekend with a pair of road MAAC matches in Connecticut. The Broncs will next take on Fairfield on Saturday, November 9.