LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Morgan Romano (Oviedo, FL/Hagertyt) had 26 kills and Anilee Sher (Poughkeepsie, NY/Spackenkill) contributed 26 assists as the Rider University volleyball team rallied back from down two sets to take a five-set victory over Canisius Saturday afternoon, 15-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-12, at Alumni Gym. With the win, the Broncs improve to 16-11 (13-4 MAAC), while the Griffs are now 10-16 (10-7 MAAC).

After taking early deficits in the first two sets and not being able to catch up, the Broncs built a lead of as many as six points on Pamela Loh (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Hendrick Hudson) and Sher's serves. They'd close out the set on a Romano kill.

Four-straight Rider points following an attack error to open the fourth gave the Broncs some early breathing room. Canisius would tie the set at 12-12, before Jenna Amaro's (Davie, FL/Archbishop McCarthy) kill gave the lead back to the Broncs and the sophomore outside hitter then served her way to three more points and a 16-12 advantage. Another four-point run later in the set helped the Broncs force a fifth set.

Canisius won three of the first four points, before Rider reeled off seven-straight points, the last six on Loh's serve. Romano and Tori Schrader (Grantville, PA/Lower Dauphin) had two kills apiece in the span. The Golden Griffins would close the deficit to 9-8, but the Broncs rebounded to hold off Canisius, 15-12, in the decisive set.

QUOTES & NOTES
"We did not start out the match the way we wanted to, obviously, getting down 0-2. But their resiliency is something they've shown all year and they're a good group, especially when I get on them and pull them back into the hallway and kind of give it to them a little bit. They showed some great resiliency to come out of that a little bit."

"The 13 wins – that's a credit to them. They've been working hard at this going back to last August, when we were on campus. I know we won it last year. But they've been playing volleyball for 18 months now and it's a credit to them." – Head Coach Jeff Rotondo
  
- Rider set a new program record for MAAC wins in a single season with their 13^th. The previous record of 12 was set in 2018 and matched in 2019.
- Rider cuts Canisius' lead in the all-time series to 30-15. The Broncs have now won four-straight matches against the Griffs, including a 3-2 decision this past Oct. 17 in Buffalo, the 2020-21 MAAC Championship match and a 3-0 sweep this past March 19 to split a doubleheader in Alumni Gym.  
- Sher had a double-double with 39 assists and 14 digs, while Romano also completed a double-double with 26 kills and 11 digs.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- The Broncs hit .174 in the match to the Griffs' .165. Rider had 58 total kills to 49 for Iona.
- Canisius had five aces in the match to two for Rider.
- Romano led the Broncs with 26 kills. Amaro was also in double figures with 13.
- Eight players recorded a dig in the match, led by 18 from Loh and 15 by Molly Strah (Akron, OH/Archbishop Hoban). Sher (14) and Romano (11) also reached double figures.
- Kerrigan Casper (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) led the Broncs with five blocks, while Romano added four.

UP NEXT
Rider wraps up the 2021 regular season Sunday, when it welcomes Niagara to Alumni Gym for a 12 p.m. first serve. The match is the Broncs' Senior Day.