LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ– The Rider University volleyball team two-match winning streak snapped Sunday afternoon, falling to Marist in four sets, 23-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-22. The Broncs fall to 4-10 overall and 3-3 in league play, while the Red Foxes improve to 7-10 on the season and 5-1 in MAAC matches.
 
The Broncs opened the match strong. Tied 1-1 in the opening set, Gabby Polynice (Huntington Beach, CA/Grant[Delaware State]) and Kiannisha Santiago (San Juan, PR/Hudson Catholic (NJ)) had kills during a 4-0 run. The Broncs would extend the lead to 12-7 before Marist responded with a 7-1 run to take the lead. Tied 17-17, the Broncs took control of the set for good with a 5-1 run led by a kill and an ace from Santiago.
 
Tied 10-10 in the second set, Marist used a 7-2 rally and grabbed a lead in the set. Down 23-18, A kill, an ace, and an assist by Ryley Frye (New Hope, MN/Robbinsdale Armstrong[UTEP]) brought the Broncs within one, but the Red Foxes got the side out to take the set.
 
Marist took control early in the third set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead, and later extending the advantage to 10-3. Down 12-6, Polynice and Santiago had three combo blocks during an 8-2 run to even the set at 14-14. Up 18-17, the Red Foxes took control of the set with a 4-0 run.
 
In set four, Marist slowly built a 12-7 lead. Trailing 15-11, Jenna Amaro (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Archbishop McCarthy) had three kills during a 5-0 run to take the lead. Moments later, Marist scored four-straight points and grabbed back control of the set and the match.

QUOTES & NOTES
"There were a lot of good things that we saw offensively at the start of the match, and even the start of set two. We slowed them down in the attack phase early, but we have to be a little bit cleaner and maintain that energy throughout."
 
"Marist is a high-powered team, and they come in with a lot of good hitters and a good offense. We did do well on the offensive phase, and the depth showed through again." – Head Coach Jeff Rotondo
 
"Our offense was running a lot of five pushes with me and I think that worked really well, and worked really well the last time we played Marist. I just tried to be available as much as I could and get the job done."
 
"When everyone is attacking while we're making big swings, and we're getting kills, the energy just electrifies the floor, and everyone has the confidence to keep swinging harder and harder." – Freshman Middle Hitter Molly Rohde
 
- Marist earns the season sweep and extends its advantage in the all-time series to 34-22.
- For the fourth time this season, Frye and Makenna Mason (Hilton Head Island, SC/Hilton Head) reached double digit assists in the same match with 25 and 21 respectively.
- Amaro led all players in the match with 14 kills on .333 hitting, her fourth match in double figures this season.
- Kiannisha Santiago (San Juan, PR/Hudson Catholic(NJ)) finished with 12 kills, her seventh match this season in double figures.
- Molly Rohde (Hortonville, WI/Hortonville) had 10 kills on .643 hitting and Tori Schrader (Grantville, PA/Lower Dauphin) added 10 of her own, the third match in double figures for Rohde this season and the first for Schrader.
- Keegan O'Connor (Weatherford, TX/Weatherford) led the Broncs with 14 digs, her ninth match this season in double digits.
- Molly Strah (Akron, OH/Archbishop Hoban) finished with 11 digs, her third time in double figures this year.
 
BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- The Broncs hit .300 in the match, but the Red Foxes hit .312.
- Rider had 54 kills in the match to 63 for Marist.
- Marist had a 57-52 edge in digs.
- The Broncs had a 12-4 advantage in blocks.
- In addition to O'Connor and Strah, Simone Langford (Hollywood, FL/Flanagan) had eight digs.
- Polynice had eight blocks in the match. Rohde and Santiago each added four.

UP NEXT
The Broncs remain home for a match Saturday against Niagara at 1 p.m.