Friday, August 30, 2019
Georgetown Invitational
Rider Broncs (0-0, 0-0 MAAC) vs. Central Arkansas (0-0, 0-0 Southland)
Location: Washington, DC (McDonough Arena)
Start Time: 11:00 AM
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tournament Central: GUHoyas.com
 
Rider Broncs (0-0, 0-0 MAAC) at Georgetown Hoyas (0-0, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Friday, August 30, 2019
Location: Washington, DC (McDonough Arena)
Start Time: 3:00 PM
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BRONCS IN 2019
- The Rider University volleyball team opens the 2019 season this weekend, August 30-31, at the Georgetown Invitational hosted by Georgetown University in Washington, DC. On the first day of action, the Broncs will face Central Arkansas and the host Hoyas. Rider closes out the first weekend of competitive action with matches against Central Connecticut and Sacred Heart.
 
- 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.
 
- The Broncs are coming off a record-setting campaign as the team went 19-11 overall and earned the number three seed in the MAAC Championship Tournament thanks to posting a 12-6 mark. The team advanced to the MAAC Championship Semifinals for the second time in program history and the first time since 1994. The 19 wins were the most for the team since the 1994 campaign. Rider's 12 wins in MAAC play were also a new program best and the No. 3 seed was the highest-ever for the team in the MAAC Volleyball Championship.
 
- 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.
 
- As a junior, Runyon had a breakout campaign. She led the MAAC with 574 digs and she ranked second in the league with 4.95 digs per set. Runyon had over 10 digs in each of her final 28 appearances in 2018. She recorded the third-most digs in single-season program history. Runyon also had 13 matches with over 20 digs and three matches with 30 or more digs. Last fall, she was named the MAAC Libero of the Week a league-best four times. In the 2018 MAAC Tournament, she recorded her 1,000th career dig in a second-round victory over No. 8 seed Saint Peter's.
 
- The top returning hitters offensively for the Broncs are seniors Alexa Shello and Evelyn Shanefield. Shello had a career-high 195 kills a year ago, while Shanefield chipped in 109 kills and 81 total blocks.
 
- In the middle, the Broncs return 2018 MAAC All-Rookie Team honoree Anilee Sher. Sher made an immediate impact in her first season on campus. Last fall, she was named the MAAC Rookie of the Week a league-best four times. Thanks to her play in the MAAC Championship, she was named to the All-Championship Team. During her rookie campaign, she registered 1,054 assists. That is the fourth-most in a single season in program history. She is just the fourth different player in Rider history to dish out over 1,000 assists in a year. Sher also added 317 digs, 50 total blocks, 49 service aces and 35 kills. Sher recorded a team-best 19 double-doubles during the year. She led the league with 49 service aces and ranked second in the MAAC with 0.45 aces per set.
 
- Rider welcomes four new student-athletes to the team this fall. Morgan Koch (Bloomington, IL/Central Catholic), Pam Loh (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Hendrick Hudson), Morgan Romano (Oviedo, FL/Hagerty) and Alicia Iafrate (Closter, NJ/Demarest) are looking to make an impact on the court this season.