LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Rider University volleyball team got back on track Wednesday night, sweeping Manhattan in straight sets in Alumni Gym. The Broncs improve to 5-13 overall and 3-5 in the MAAC, while the Jasper fall to 1-18 on the season, including a 1-8 league mark.
 
The first set was tight throughout, with the Broncs hold a slim lead for the majority. Leading 17-16, Rider scored three-straight points on the serve of Molly Strah (Akron, OH/Archbishop Hoban). One rotation later, Sydney Bond (Homestead, FL/Westminster Christian) served out the set with a 5-0 run, capped by an ace.
 
Midway through the second, it was the Broncs pulling away again. Leading 14-11, Rider went on a dominant 11-1 run, including four kills by Kianny Santiago (San Juan, PR/Hudson Catholic (NJ)), three kills by Morgan Romano (Oviedo, FL/Hagerty), and three Rider aces.
 
The momentum carried over to the third set, where the Broncs opened the set with an 8-1 run, including a pair of aces by Julia Slivka (Adamstown, MD/Tuscarora). Leading 14-6, Rider went on a 5-0 on the serve of Morgan Koch (Bloomington, IL/Central Catholic), including a pair of aces. Rider went on to take the set 25-8.
 
QUOTES & NOTES
"We want to come out and play a more aggressive brand of volleyball. The first set we were a little bit tight, then we final went to that aggressive mind set and started to see some of the things we wanted to see."
 
"It was one of our focuses yesterday in practice, and even in warm ups today. We need to be aggressive with our arms, and make sure we're throwing fast balls and just maintain aggression throughout."
 
"We have to put it in perspective. We can't get too high when we play a match like this because then if we come out and have a little dip in performance, we don't want that to rattle our confidence. We just need to make sure that within each set and within each point we're playing the right way." – Head Coach Jeff Rotondo
 
"Starting in the second set, everything started to click because the energy and communication was high. Personally I stepped up my game, and we started playing as a team."
 
"We showed our potential and it is really good to get this win to boost our confidence coming into a big weekend."
 
"We have been focusing on our serve in practice. I'm trying to serve the best way I can, and my top spin has been really consistent." – Freshman Outside Hitter Kianny Santiago
 
- Manhattan still leads the all-time series 30-21, but the Broncs have taken 13 of the last 14 meetings.
- Santiago led the Broncs with a career-high 15 kills, her second double-digit kill match of the season.
- Romano had 12 kills and a team-high 14 digs for her fourth double-double of the season.
- Alicia Iafrate (Closter, NJ/Demarest) had 12 digs, her second match this season with double-digit digs.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- The Broncs hit .356 in the match, to just .054 for Manhattan.
- Rider had just 41 kills to just 19 for the Jaspers.
- The Broncs had 11 aces to two for Manhattan.
- Rider finished with 56 digs to 39 for Manhattan
- Bond led the Broncs with 22 assists and four aces in the match.

UP NEXT
Rider remains home to continue a four-match homestand on Saturday. The Broncs host Quinnipiac at 1 p.m.