Rider University Athletics

PHILADELPHIA, PA - The Rider University volleyball team was defeated Saturday afternoon, falling to host Temple at the Cherry and White Invitational, 25-14, 25-20, 26-24. The Broncs fall to 1-1 on the season, while the Owls improve to 2-1.
 
With the Owls leading 6-3 in the opening set, Temple pulled away with an 11-0 run. Down 19-5, Rider scored four-straight points including back-to-back combo blocks from Molly Rohde (Hortonville, WI/Hortonville) and Madison Daley (Appleton, WI/Xavier HS), but the damage had already been done.
 
Down 2-1 in set two, the Broncs scored three-straight on the serve of Rohde, but Temple quickly responded to tie the set 5-5. Tied 8-8, the Owls went on a 4-1 run, then up 21-19, Temple scored three-straight on their way to securing the set.
 
Temple would go up 7-2 early in the third, but the Broncs would fight back, responding with a 5-1 run, led by two kills Maisie Nawrocki (Willoughby, OH/Willoughby South) and one each from Cecilia DeCaro (Wilmington, DE/Ursuline Academy), Makenna Mason (Hilton Head Island, SC/Hilton Head, and Tori Bonacci (Downingtown, PA/Bishop Shanahan). Then trailing 10-8, Rider took the lead in the set with a 5-0 run, led by two blocks from Rohde and an ace by Mason. With Rider trailing 23-20, a Temple serve was called in, appearing to give the Owls set point, but the Broncs would challenge and overturn the call. Olivia DeSaro (Holland, PA/Council Rock South) would then step to the service line and serve the Broncs to a 24-23 lead, giving Rider its first set point of the match, but the Owls responded with three-straight points to take the match.
 
QUOTES & NOTES
"Disappointed in how we started out, especially when Tempe was reeling from a loss last night. We had to get on them early, and instead we did the opposite of that. We let them build their confidence. I was proud of sets two and three how we fought back, and it was good to get some youth on the floor."
 
"Our goal is not to funnel or channel the ball to the defense, it's to block, so I'm proud of how we are doing that. We can still be cleaner, especially in serve/pass. We're losing that battle, so we definitely need to clean that up." – Head Coach Jeff Rotondo
 
- Temple extends its lead in the all-time series to 14-0.
- Mason had a team-high 19 assists for her second match this season and 79^th match in her career with double digits.
- Simone Langford (Hollywood, FL/Flanagan) led Rider with 17 digs, securing double figures for the second time this season and 14^th time in her career.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- The Broncs hit .170 in the match, while the Owls hit .222 as a team.
- Temple had 42 kills to 28 for the Broncs. Nawrocki and Rylah Robinson (Fairfax, VA/Robinson) each had seven kills to lead Rider.
- The Owls had 52 digs to 45 for the Broncs.
- Rider held an edge of 8-3 in blocks, and Temple had a 9-2 advantage in aces.
 
UP NEXT
- The Broncs return to action Friday for a pair of matches, taking on host St. John's at 1 p.m. before facing East Texas A&M at 4 p.m.