Rider University Athletics

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ - The Rider University volleyball team won its second-straight match Saturday afternoon, defeating Niagara 25-16, 19-25, 25-12, 25-18. The Broncs improve to 3-11 on the season, and 2-3 in Metro play, while the Purple Eagles fall to 1-12, and 0-5 in conference play.
 
Trailing 10-9 in the opening set, Rider made its run, scoring six-straight points, capped by back-to-back double blocks from Anja Kelly () and Molly Rhode (Hortonville, IL/Hortonville). Leading 21-16, the Broncs closed out the set with a 4-0 run, led by a block and a kill each from Rhode and Rylah Robinson (Fairfax, VA/Robinson).
 
Rider looked poised to run away with set two early grabbing leads of 4-1 and later 7-3 on an ace from Katie Cook (Stanley, NC/East Lincoln[Robert Morris]). However, down 10-5, Niagara came back with six-straight points to take the lead in the set. After multiple lead changes, Niagara held a 20-18 lead before scoring four-straight points to take complete control of the set and tie the match going into the break.
 
Already leading 11-6 in the third, the Broncs pulled away with a 9-1 run, including two aces from Makenna Mason (Hilton Head Island, SC/Hilton Head), and two kills plus a block from Rhode.
 
Rider got out to a 10-6 advantage in the fourth when the Purple Eagles scored four-straight to tie the set. Tied 11-11, Rider gripped control of the set with a 4-0 run, including a pair of aces by Simone Langford (Hollywood, FL/Flanagan). Later in the set leading 19-16, the Broncs continued to pull away with another four-straight points, including an ace from Olivia DeSaro (Holland, PA/Council Rock South)
 
QUOTES & NOTES
"It was a good win yesterday, but if we don't follow that up with a another good showing today, it's not going to matter. The energy was really good once again, we had a dip in set two, but fought back. Credit to Niagara for putting up a good fight, despite the rough start to the season. Our passers have been giving us great opportunities, letting McKenna have all of her options. We have some numbers that tell us our opponents are struggling against middles, so our passers did a great job allowing Tori and Molly to be available. We were a little sloppy earlier on our block with our hands, and it really changed starting with lest night. We want to average over two blocks a set, and we've done that two matches in a row now." – Head Coach Jeff Rotondo
 
"We found a way to win the serve-pass battle this weekend. That was one of our biggest focuses, so that our offense could be freed up to do their thing. This weekend was great for our confidence and the season looks completely different than it did before. Everyone else is working hard, and so we have to work even harder." – Senior Libero Simone Langford
 
- Rider trims the Niagara lead in the all-time series to 25-24.
- Mason had a match-high 36 assists, giving her 14 matches this season and 91 matches in her career with double digits.
- Langford led all players in the match with 17 digs, reaching double figures for the ninth time this season and 21^st time in her career.
- Robinson finished with 11 kills to secured double figures for the third time this season and 23^rd time in her career.
- Tori Bonacci (Downingtown, PA/Bishop Shanahan) had a career-high 13 kills for her second-straight double-digit kill match.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- The Broncs hit .255 in the match, while the Purple Eagles hit .151 as a team.
- Rider had 44 kills to 37 for Niagara.
- The Purple Eagles had 44 digs to 40 for Canisius.
- Rider held an edge of 10-5 in blocks and had a 16-7 advantage in aces.
 
UP NEXT
- The Broncs are back in action Friday, traveling to Sacred Heart for a 7 p.m. match.