LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Rider University volleyball team was defeated in three sets Saturday afternoon, falling 25-22, 25-15, and 25-13 to Quinnipiac. The Broncs fall to 5-14 on the season and 3-6 in MAAC play. The Bobcats improve to 4-13 on the year and 3-7 in league play.
 
The teams played a tight first set. Down 9-7 in the set, Rider went on a 6-0 run on the serve of Sydney Bond (Homestead, FL/Westminster Christian) to go up 13-9. The Bobcats immediately would take the lead back with a 5-0 run of their own. Tied 20-20, Quinnipiac closed out the set with a 5-2 rally.
 
Rider came out firing in the second, going up 5-0 on the serve of Julia Slivka (Adamstown, MD/Tuscarora), including a pair of aces by Morgan Romano (Oviedo, FL/Hagerty). Following a Quinnipiac timeout, the Bobcats reeled off seven-straight points and quickly grew the lead, taking the set 25-15.
 
The Bobcats carried the momentum into the third set, going up 4-0. Rider fought back, taking a 6-5 lead, but would never lead again. The Bobcats closed out the match 7-for-7 in sideout opportunities from that moment, taking the third set 25-13.
 
QUOTES & NOTES
"We had a lot of breakdowns in our defensive package. We had schemes we wanted to run, and I'm not sure we ran any of them correctly. Quinnipiac defends well, and they were intent on coming in here and making a statement."
 
"We need to be aggressive without being sloppy, and today we were sloppy. So it obviously became contagious today, just like it became contagious Wednesday the other way."
 
"We have a difficult task ahead of us tomorrow. We hope to get into some film tonight and come in with a little better mindset tomorrow." – Head Coach Jeff Rotondo
 
- Rider still leads the all-time series 13-11.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- The Broncs hit just .012 in the match, to .277 for Quinnipiac.
- Rider had just 25 kills to 35 for the Bobcats.
- The Broncs had just two blocks, while Quinnipiac had six.
- Romano had eight kills to lead the Broncs.
- Pamela Loh (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Hendrick Hudson) led Rider with eight digs.
- Bond led the Broncs with 13 assists in the match.

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