BUFFALO, NY– The Rider University volleyball team won the final two sets Saturday afternoon, coming from behind to defeat Canisius, 19-25, 25-19, 17-25, 25-20, 15-12. The Broncs improve to 9-15 on the season and 8-7 in MAAC play. The Golden Griffins fall to 8-15 on the year and 6-9 in league matches.
 
The Broncs fell behind early in set one, trailing 6-2 and after a 4-0 Canisius run, 10-5. The Golden Griffins then maintained the lead for the remainder of the set, not allowing the Broncs to pull within three points at any future point in the set.
 
Down 8-4 in set two, the Broncs scored five-straight points to take the lead. After a Canisius side out that tied the set at nine, Paige Giehtbrock (Clarkston, MI/Clarkston) had three-straight kills to put Rider up 12-9. The Broncs would later extend the run to 12-2, giving them a 16-10 lead in the set. Up 17-16, Rider again pulled away with a 7-1 run.
 
With Rider leading 4-2 in set three, Canisius took the lead with a 6-0 run. After Rider pulled to within 11-9, Canisius pulled away with a 6-1 run and the Broncs would not threaten again in the set.
 
Rider consistently built a lead early in the fourth, going up 12-6 despite not score more than three-straight points during the run. The Golden Griffins fought back to within 19-18, when the Broncs came up clutch, scoring three-straight points to outscore Canisius 6-2 down the stretch and tied the match, forcing a fifth and final set.
 
The Broncs were dominant early in the deciding set, going ahead 7-1 with two kills by Carley McAleavey (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West) and two blocks by Molly Rohde (Hortonville, WI/Hortonville). Canisius fought back to within 8-6, but neither side would win a point on serve for the remainder of the match.

QUOTES & NOTES
"Crazy battle today and a real gritty effort to come away with this win. To be honest, we were not great in receive today, but our hitters did a very good job of staying aggressive and smart. Even though we were struggling a bit in serve receive, our defenders did not let it carry over as our defensive numbers were great. I though Keedan, Molly S., and Simone did great defending against their hitters."
 
"Carley came through big, and Ryley and Makenna ran the offense well. As we got deep into set four and five we got some clutch kills from Tori and Kianny to help seal it. Unfortunately, we don't have time to bask in this one as we have a tough Niagara team tomorrow." – Head Coach Jeff Rotondo
 
- The Broncs earn a split of the season series, both in five sets, and the Canisius lead in the all-time series is now 33-16.
- For the 12th time this season, Ryley Frye (New Hope, MN/Robbinsdale Armstrong[UTEP]) and Makenna Mason (Hilton Head Island, SC/Hilton Head) reached double digit assists in the same match with 25 and 21 respectively.
- Frye completed her seventh double-double of the season with 15 digs.
- Keegan O'Connor (Weatherford, TX/Weatherford) set a career-high with 23 digs, reaching double digits for the 16^th time this season.
- Giehtbrock had her second double-double of the season with 12 kills to go along with 18 digs.
- Molly Strah (Akron, OH/Archbishop Hoban) added 14 digs, her seventh match in double figures this season.
- Kiannisha Santiago (San Juan, PR/Hudson Catholic (NJ)) finished with 12 kills, her 10^th match in double figures this year.
- McAleavey had 11 errorless kills, hitting .688 and reaching double digits in kills for the first time this season.
- Rohde finished with 10 kills, her fourth time in double figures this season.
 
BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- The Broncs hit .247 in the match, while the Golden Griffins hit .176.
- Rider had 57 kills in the match to 51 for Canisius.
- Rider had an 83-63 edge in digs.
- Canisius had a 21-5 advantage in aces.
- McAleavey had five blocks and Rohde added four.

UP NEXT
The Broncs close out the Buffalo trip with a 1 p.m. match against Niagara on Sunday.