Friday, November 17, 2023
No. 5 Rider Broncs (11-16, 10-8 MAAC) vs. No. 4 Niagara Purple Eagles (13-13, 12-6 MAAC)
Location: Fairfield, CT
Time: 6 p.m.
Live Video – ESPN+
Live Stats – StatBroadcast
 
What You Need To Know
- All matches at the MAAC Tournament will be broadcast on ESPN+.
- Thursday morning, Kiannisha Santiago (San Juan, PR/Hudson Catholic (NJ)) was named to the Second-Team All-MAAC. In addition, Paige Giehtbrock (Clarkston, MI/Clarkston) and Molly Rohde (Hortonville, WI/Hortonville) were named to the MAAC All-Rookie team.
- 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 finished 10-8 in league play, good for a tie for fifth in the MAAC. The Broncs are won the tiebreaker over Iona to earn the five seed in the MAAC Tournament.
- The winner of Friday's match will face top-seeded Fairfield on Saturday.
- Keegan O'Connor (Weatherford, TX/Weatherford) 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 3.55 digs per set.
- Santiago leads the Broncs this season with 210 kills and ranks in the top 10 in the MAAC in hitting percentage. She is also second on the squad with 53 blocks.
- Giehtbrock earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Delaware Invitational, posting 23 kills, six digs, and a pair of aces across the two matches.
- Rohde has a team-high 74 blocks and is third on the team with 132 kills, and transfer-junior Ryley Frye (New Hope, MN/Robbinsdale Armstrong[UTEP]) has a team-high 515 assists to go along with 47 aces.
- Frye leads the conference and ranks 12^th nationally, averaging 0.54 aces per set.
- Rohde was dominant during the New York trip earlier in the season, 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.
- Giehtbrock posted her second career double-double with 12 kills and 18 digs in the win over Canisius. She followed up that performance with 11 kills and five digs against Niagara to earn MAAC Rookie of the Week honors.
- The Broncs have won four of their last five matches, with the only loss coming at the hands of the top-seeded Stags.
- Rider won both matches over the Purple Eagles this season in three sets. Santiago and Giehtbrock both earned double-digit kills in both meetings this season. Bella Peroni combined for 28 digs across the pair of matches.
- Niagara placed Laryssa Imbuzeiro on the Second-Team All-MAAC and Janiah Robinson on MAAC All-Rookie Team.