LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ– The Rider University volleyball team won its second-straight match Saturday evening, topping Siena in four sets, 25-22, 22-25, 25-22, 25-11. The Broncs improve to 4-9 overall and 3-2 in league play, while the Saints fall to 1-14 on the season and 1-4 in MAAC matches.
Down 2-1 in the opening set, Rider scored four-straight points, with kills by (San Juan, PR/Hudson Catholic (NJ)) and Paige Giehtbrock (Clarkston, MI/Clarkston). After Siena came back to claim a 16-15 lead, The Broncs sandwiched a pair of 4-0 runs around two Siena points to go ahead 23-18 and would later secure the set.
The second set featured 10 ties and was tight throughout, but with Rider leading 22-21, Siena closed out the set on a 4-0 run to even the match.
Trailing 3-1 in set three, Rider went on a 5-0 run capped by a pair of blocks from Molly Rohde (Hortonville, WI/Hortonville). After the Saints responded to take a 21-20 lead, Santiago and Giehtbrock each had two kills as the Broncs closed out the set on a 5-1 run.
Leading 4-3 in the fourth, Rider took complete control of the match with an 8-0 run, including three aces by Ryley Frye (New Hope, MN/Robbinsdale Armstrong[UTEP]) and a kill and three blocks by Rohde. The Broncs continued to pull away up 13-5, going on a 5-0 run with a pair of aces by Rohde and two kills from Jenna Amaro (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Archbishop McCarthy) en route to an easy fourth set victory.
QUOTES & NOTES
"We definitely feel like we are hitting a little bit of a stride. We'd like to be a little bit cleaner in certain phases, but we are seeing growth in all the areas we are putting effort into in practice."
"We got off to an early start in the fourth set, so that settled the nerves a little bit. We have to get used to playing with more freedom and going for it. We noticed in practice we have a lot of depth. It's just a matter of piecing it all together and finding consistency." – Head Coach Jeff Rotondo
"My goal for the week, even at practice, was just to be aggressive. It just started to click and honestly, I didn't even know I had 16 kills until the end of the match."
"We just need to have more grit and fire in our bellies, and just go for it. We know from the last time we played [Marist], we didn't play our best and we were right there with them." – Senior Outside Hitter Jenna Amaro
- Rider cuts into Siena's lead in the all-time series, which now stands at 30-17.
- For the third time this season, Makenna Mason (Hilton Head Island, SC/Hilton Head) and Frye reached double digit assists in the same match with 29 and 19 respectively.
- Frye completed the double-double with 13 digs in the match as well.
- Amaro led all players in the match with a career-high 16 kills on .429 hitting, her third match in double figures this season.
- Paige Giehtbrock (Clarkston, MI/Clarkston) had 11 kills, reaching double digits for the second time this season.
- Kiannisha Santiago (San Juan, PR/Hudson Catholic(NJ)) finished with 11 kills, her sixth match this season in double figures.
- Molly Strah (Akron, OH/Archbishop Hoban) led all players with 16 digs, her second time in double figures this year.
- Keegan O'Connor (Weatherford, TX/Weatherford) recorded 10 digs, her eighth match this season in double digits.
BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- The Broncs hit .289 in the match, holding Siena to .160.
- Rider had 56 kills in the match to 42 for the Saints.
- Rider had a 55-36 advantage in digs.
- The Broncs had an 11-6 edge in blocks.
- Frye had four aces in the match, with Rohde adding three.
- Rohde had seven blocks in the match.
UP NEXT
The Broncs remain home for a match Sunday against Marist at 2 p.m.
