Friday, August 25, 2023 / Saturday, August 26, 2023
Cavalier Classic
Rider Broncs (0-0) vs. Virginia Cavaliers (0-0) / North Carolina A&T Aggies (0-0) / Rutgers Scarlet Knights (0-0)
Location: Charlottesville, VA
Time: 7 p.m. / TBD
Live Video –ACCNX
Live Stats – VirginiaSports.com - Friday
 
What You Need To Know
- Friday's match will be available on ACCNX.
- Saturday's Championship match will take place at 2:30 p.m. with the consolation match starting prior at 12 p.m.
- 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.
- 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 leads all active Broncs 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 across her 197 career sets. McAleavey hit .301 as a freshman, totaling 181 kills and 55 blocks in 92 sets.
- The Broncs will have to fill the void left by the graduation of Morgan Romano (Oviedo, FL/Hagerty), who was named to First-Team All-MAAC honors by the league last season. Romano became the first player in program history to earn four All-MAAC honors during her career.
- 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.
- The Broncs will be playing Virginia for the first-time ever when the program's clash Friday night. Of the Broncs possible Saturday opponents, Rider and Rutgers have met 20 times, with the Scarlet Knights holding a 15-5 advantage in the series. The Broncs won their lone meeting with North Carolina A&T with a three-set win in 2009.
- Virginia finished 2022 with a 12-17 overall record, but finished 8-3 in non-conference matches. The Cavaliers top returner is Abby Tadder, who finished with 244 kills and 114 total blocks as a middle last season.
- Rutgers returns over 80% of its offense from a season ago, led by Alissa Kinkela, who led the Scarlet Knights at 2.76 kills per set in 2022. Madyson Chitty controls the back line for Rutgers, entering her senior season with 880 career digs.
- North Carolina A&T was picked to finish 10^th in the 12-team CAA this season. Junior outside hitter, Naiya Sawtelle, was named to the Preseason All-CAA Team after leading the Aggies with 429 kills and 4.17 kills per set in 2022.