Wednesday, September 6, 2023
Rider Broncs (1-4) vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-1)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ / Alumni Gym
Time: 7 p.m.
Live Video –BroncVision
Live Stats – GoBroncs.com
 
What You Need To Know
- Wednesday's match will be available on BroncVision.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- McAleavey leads the Broncs this season with 25 kills. She also has 11 blocks to lead the squad.
- Incoming freshman Molly Rohde (Hortonville, WI/Hortonville) is second on the team with 22 kills, and transfer-junior Ryley Frye (New Hope, MN/Robbinsdale Armstrong[UTEP]) has a team-high 82 assists to go along with six aces.
- Rider and Rutgers have met 20 times, with the Scarlet Knights holding a 15-5 advantage in the series. Wednesday's meeting will be the first between the teams since a tournament matchup in 2018. Rutgers has won six-straight in the series.
- 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. Kinkela leads the team with 56 kills so far this season. Madyson Chitty controls the back line for Rutgers, entering her senior season with 880 career digs. Her 73 currently lead the squad this season.