Saturday, October 28, 2023/Sunday, October 29, 2023
Rider Broncs (7-14, 6-6 MAAC) vs. Manhattan Jaspers (7-17, 4-8 MAAC)/Iona Gaels (11-13, 7-6 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ / Alumni Gym
Time: 6 p.m./5 p.m.
Live Video –ESPN+ - Saturday/Sunday
Live Stats – GoBroncs.com
 
What You Need To Know
- Both of this weekend's matches will be available on ESPN+.
- The Broncs were selected sixth by the league's coaches in the MAAC Preseason Poll, but were one of six teams to receive a first-place vote. Rider finished seventh in the regular season in 2022 before reaching the MAAC Tournament semifinals with wins over Manhattan and second-seeded Marist. The Broncs ultimately fell in the semifinals to eventual MAAC Champions Quinnipiac.
- The Broncs are currently 6-6 in MAAC play, good for sixth in the MAAC. The Broncs are a half game behind fifth-place Iona and two games clear of Manhattan and Canisius, currently tied for seventh.
- Rider returns three starters from a season ago in senior outside hitters Tori Schrader (Grantville, PA/Lower Dauphin) and Jenna Amaro (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Archbishop McCarthy), and MAAC All-Rookie honoree, middle hitter Carley McAleavey (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West).
- Schrader led all active Broncs entering the season with 499 career kills, and her 2.63 kills per set would rank ninth in program history. Amaro has compiled 294 kills, 43 aces, and 366 digs in her first three seasons. McAleavey hit .301 as a freshman, totaling 181 kills and 55 blocks in 92 sets.
- Key reserves returning for the Broncs include Kiannisha Santiago (San Juan, PR/Hudson Catholic (NJ)), who finished 2022 with 128 kills in just 59 sets, and defensive specialists Keegan O'Connor (Weatherford, TX/Weatherford) and Molly Strah (Akron, OH/Archbishop Hoban). The duo recorded 2.65 and 2.13 digs per set last season, respectively.
- O'Connor was the star for the Broncs at the Cavalier Classic, totaling 19 digs and five aces across a pair of matches to earn All-Tournament Team honors. O'Connor leads Rider this season, averaging 3.33 digs per set.
- Santiago leads the Broncs this season with 146 kills. She is also third on the squad with 33 blocks.
- Paige Giehtbrock (Clarkston, MI/Clarkston) earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Delaware Invitational, posting 23 kills, six digs, and a pair of aces across the two matches.
- Incoming freshman Molly Rohde (Hortonville, WI/Hortonville) has a team-high 54 blocks and is third on the team with 104 kills, and transfer-junior Ryley Frye (New Hope, MN/Robbinsdale Armstrong[UTEP]) has a team-high 395 assists to go along with 37 aces.
- Frye leads the conference and ranks 11^th nationally, averaging 0.57 aces per set.
- Rohde was dominant during the New York trip, compiling 18 kills on .517 hitting. The freshman added three aces, 11 blocks, and a pair of digs. In a MAAC win over Siena, she had eight kills, three aces, and seven blocks. Against Marist, she added 10 kills on .643 hitting, with four blocks and two digs. For her efforts, she was named MAAC Rookie of the Week.
- The Broncs have won their last two matches, both in four sets, entering the weekend. When these teams met earlier this season, the Broncs fell in four sets at Iona before bouncing back for a four-set win at Manhattan.
- Manhattan is coming off back-to-back five-set wins last weekend, taking down Siena followed by Marist.
- Mikalah Curran leads the offensive attack for the Jaspers, totaling 211 kills on the year. Curran is also second on the team with 158 total digs.
- The Gaels saw their three-match winning streak snapped Wednesday in a midweek match at Quinnipiac, falling in three sets.
- The Iona offense runs through Mackenzie Wiggins, who has 300 kills on the season. Wiggins had nine kills in the first meeting with the Broncs this season.