LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ - The Rider University volleyball team got a key MAAC victory Friday night, defeating Niagara 25-22, 25-17, 25-27, 25-18. The Broncs improve to 11-13 overall and 9-4 in MAAC play. The Purple Eagles drop to 10-11 overall and 10-3 in league matches.
 
Tied 4-4 in the opening set, the Broncs scored three-straight points, including an ace from Tyler Adams (Wilmington, DE/Ursuline Academy), but the Purple Eagles responded with six-straight points of their own. Down 16-11, the Broncs went on a 5-0 run led by three kills from Carley McAleavey (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West) to tie the set. Trailing 22-20, the Broncs closed out the set on a 5-0 run, led by a pair of kills from Kiannisha Santiago (San Juan, PR/Hudson Catholic (NJ)).
 
Down 5-4 in set two, the Broncs exploded with an extended 15-4 run, including smaller rallies of 5-0, 3-0, and 3-0. Five Broncs recorded kills during the run, with Erynn Gotsch (DeLand, FL/DeLand) leading the way with three. The Broncs never looked back, leading by at least seven for the rest of the set.
 
The Broncs jumped out to a 7-4 lead in set three before Niagara countered with a 6-0 run to take the lead in the set. The Broncs immediately responded with a 4-0 run to take back control of the set, including an ace from Makenna Mason (Hilton Head Island, SC/Hilton Head). The Broncs would eventually build the lead to 19-15, when a 6-2 Niagara run evened the set at 21-21. Rider would get match points at 24-23, and 25-24 before a 3-0 run by the Purple Eagles secured the set and extended the match.
 
The Broncs got to work quickly in set four, building a 12-5 lead with another balanced run as five Broncs again recorded kills during the rally. This time it was Santiago with three kills to lead the way for Rider. Niagara would come back to close to within one at 14-13, but the Broncs used a 4-0 run with three different Broncs recording kills to pull away and the Purple Eagles would not get closer than three the rest of the way.
 
QUOTES & NOTES
"Every match from here on out is going to have some major implications as far as potential playoff seeding and everything else. We don't have the luxury to give any away, where we feel like we have a chance to win and just don't play the right way. We played the right way tonight. We took it to them and stuck to the game plan. This one was big, and we have another big one tomorrow so we need to reload and get ready for tomorrow."
 
"The passers really did a good job tonight, getting the ball to Makenna in good spots and Makenna did a good job of finding the hot hitter and putting all of our hitters in good positions." – Head Coach Jeff Rotondo
 
"We went into tonight not looking at the standings, but wanting to prove ourselves. We beat them last time, but we also weren't going to underestimate them. They are a really good blocking team, so I was just trying to move it around. Kianny was on fire. Our goal was just to keep them out of system. If we stayed aggressive, they couldn't run all three hitters, and it took their setters out as much as possible." – Junior Setter Makenna Mason
 
"We had such a great practice yesterday, and we just brought that same intensity and energy into today's match. When I'm playing, I don't think about my stats, I just go up and go for it, and try to get as many kills as I can to help the team. All of us were communicating, and when we hold each other accountable, it helps us to maintain that energy." – Senior Opposite Kiannisha Santiago
 
- Rider completes the season sweep and trims Niagara's lead in the all-time series to 25-23.
- Santiago led all players with a career-high 25 kills to reach double digits for the 16^th time this season and 49^th time in her career.
- Gotsch finished with 12 kills to reach double digits for the eighth time in her freshman season.
- McAleavey added 11 kills on .500 hitting, reaching double figures for the seventh time this season and 16^th time in her career.
- Mason had 58 assists for her 22^nd match this season and 68^th match in her career with double digits. She added 14 digs for her 10^th career double-double. The 58 assists are tied for the third-most in a four-set match in the country this season.
- Keegan O'Connor (Weatherford, TX/Weatherford) added a match-high 19 digs to secure double figures for the 21^st time this season and 71^st time in her career.
- Simone Langford (Hollywood, FL/Flanagan) had a season-high 16 digs, reaching double figures for the fourth time this season and 11^th time in her career.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- The Broncs hit .265 in the match, while the Purple Eagles hit .144 as a team.
- Rider had 67 kills to 46 for Niagara.
- The Broncs had 67 digs to 66 for the Purple Eagles.
- Niagara held edges of 10-9 in blocks and 7-6 in aces.

UP NEXT
The Broncs are back in action Saturday at 2 p.m. when Canisius comes to Alumni Gym.