RIVERDALE, NY – Freshman Morgan Romano (Oviedo, FL/Hagerty) registered a career-high 30 kills to lead the Rider University volleyball team past host Manhattan, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action inside Draddy Gymnasium.
 
The Broncs (5-8, 2-0 MAAC) won by scores of 20-25, 25-21, 25-20 and 25-23 over the Jaspers (2-10, 0-2 MAAC).
 
Rider earned its third straight win, while Manhattan suffered its seventh setback in a row.
 
After dropping the first set, the Broncs rebounded for the win.
 
Offensively, Romano paced the Rider attack with 30 kills and .396 attack percentage. Three other Broncs added five kills apiece.
 
In the middle, Anilee Sher (Poughkeepsie, NY/Spackenkill) continued her steady play for Rider with 45 assists, two service aces, two block assists and eight digs.
 
NOTES & QUOTES
"Today was a perfect example of needing to find a way to win when we were not at our best. Offensively, everything just seemed off, and it was similar on the block and defensive end. Being out of rhythm, we needed to find offense and Romano stepped up in a huge way for us. In addition, we scrapped and fought for points when we needed them. It doesn't always have to be pretty, so it was encouraging to see us pull that out in four." – Rider Head Coach Jeff Rotondo
 
- Rider has won six straight matches against Manhattan.
- As a team, Rider had 51 kills, 50 assists, seven total blocks and 55 digs.
- The Broncs have started conference play 2-0 for the first time since 2015.
 
BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Romano registered 30 kills for the first time in her career. It was her third match this year with 20 or more kills. For the weekend, she had 42 kills and averaged six kills per set. She leads the MAAC in total kills and kills per set this season.
- Defensively, Danielle Blanco had 11 digs.
- Libero Rachelle Runyon had a team-best 12 digs.
- Evelyn Shanefield, Morgan Koch and Alexa Shello all had five kills apiece.
 
UP NEXT
Rider closes out its 2019 non-conference slate on Wednesday, September 25, with a road non-conference showdown with American. The two teams are playing for the first time since 2016 and just the second time since 2000.