FAIRFIELD, CT – Senior Ali Ward (West Chester, PA/West Chester East) contributed 28 kills as the Rider University volleyball team pushed defending MAAC Champion Fairfield, but fell, 3-1 and 3-2, in a season-opening doubleheader at Alumni Hall Sunday afternoon. With the losses, the Broncs fall to 0-2, while the Stags are 2-0.

In the opening match, the Stags took the first set, 25-17, before the Broncs battled back to take the second, 25-18. But Fairfield would clinch the match with 25-18 and 25-23 wins in the third and fourth sets, respectively. Ward led the Broncs with 13 kills, while Anilee Sher (Poughkeepsie, NY/Spackenkill) had 38 assists and Danielle Blanco (El Paso, TX/Franklin) contributed 22 digs.

In the second match, the two teams traded set victories, with the Stags winning the first (25-19) and third (25-16) and the Broncs countering with wins in the second (25-22) and fourth (25-16). The Stags took the decisive fifth set, 15-12. Ward again led the Broncs with 15 kills, while Morgan Romano (Oviedo, FL/Hagerty) added a double-double of 12 kills and 14 digs. Sher dished out 49 assists, while Blanco had 26 digs.  

NOTES
- The Broncs and Stags were playing their season openers in an untraditional Spring season after COVID-19 forced the postponement of the Fall season. MAAC programs will play five doubleheaders each in the regular season before heading to Albany, NY, for MAAC Championships, April 1-3.
- A year after taking just one set in two matches against the Stags, the Broncs took three sets today.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Ward had a team-high 28 kills on the day.
- Romano chipped in with 20 kills and 24 digs.
- Caprice Clarke (Toronto, Ontario/Blyth Academy (Yorkville)) added 17 kills and a team-high eight blocks.
- Morgan Koch (Bloomington, IL/Central Catholic) and Jillian Chan (Watchung, NJ/Watchung Hills Regional) also reached double-digit kills with 14 apiece. Koch also had six blocks, while Chan had five.
- Sher finished the day with 87 assists, 14 digs and five blocks.
- Blanco had 48 digs on the day.  

UP NEXT
Rider returns to Lawrenceville for its home openers next Sunday, March 14, when it plays host to Marist. The matches are scheduled for 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. (tentative – 2 ½ hours between the end of the first match and the beginning of the second, by MAAC rule).