VILLANOVA, PA – Despite having more total kills and out-hitting their opponent, the Rider University volleyball team fell in four sets at Villanova Saturday morning.
After dropping the first two sets by identical 25-18 scores, the teams were tied 6-6 in the third set, when Rider used a 6-1 run to take control of the set, capped by a service ace from
Anilee Sher (Poughkeepsie, NY/Spackenkill). The Wildcats would fight back and earn a match point with a 24-23 advantage, but a kill from
Morgan Romano (Oviedo, FL/Hagerty) led to her serving out the final two points of the set.
The Broncs took an early lead in the fourth set behind three kills from
Jenna Amaro (Davie, FL/Archbishop McCarthy) and a pair from Romano. But trailing 8-7, the Wildcats went on a 10-4 to take back the lead. The Broncs would respond, tying the set at 20 on back-to-back aces from Sher, however the Wildcats would score four of the matches final six points to secure the win.
QUOTES & NOTES
"We are definitely pleased with the effort and grit we showed today. I think we made some good adjustments with serve receive and our ability to stay aggressive with our offense."
"We had moments of extremely good play within our block and defensive systems. We just need to be a little more consistent in that phase."
"Overall, it was a good effort today and we are looking forward to cleaning up some areas and prepping for our trip out west."
– Head Coach Jeff Rotondo
- Villanova has captured all six meetings in the all-time series.
- Sher had the Broncs first double-double of the season with 41 assists and 16 digs.
- With four aces today, Sher now has 116 career aces, tied for seventh-most in program history.
BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- The Broncs hit .252 in the match, out-hitting the Wildcats .246. Rider had 51 total kills, to 47 for Villanova.
- Romano led the Broncs with 18 kills, hitting .395 in the match.
Jillian Chan (Watchung, NJ/Watchung Hills Regional) also reached double-digit kills with 11.
- Seven different players recorded kills in the match, including four with five or more kills. In addition to Romano and Chan, Amaro finished with seven kills and
Morgan Koch (Bloomington, IL/Central Catholic) had six without making an error in 11 chances.
- Nine players recorded a dig in the match, led by Sher.
Pamela Loh (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Hendrick Hudson) had nine, Romano finished with seven, and
Emma Notarfrancesco (Mechanicsburg, PA/Mechanicsburg Area Senior) had six.
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Caprice Clarke (Toronto, Canada/Blythe Acadmey [Yorkville]) led the Broncs with three blocks.
UP NEXT
Rider travels to Arizona to compete in the Grand Canyon University Tournament, where the Broncs will again face Villanova, along with Western Carolina and the host Lopes, Sept. 3-4.
