College Volleyball
Rider University 3, La Salle University 1
Rider's Jeary 1,500th Career Dig
LAWRENCEVILLE-Before a raucous, standing room only crowd, the Rider University volleyball team opened the 2009 home schedule with a 3-1 win against La Salle (1-8) on Tuesday night in Alumni Gym.
The Broncs won in four-sets 25-20, 27-25, 22-25, 25-21.
"It was a fantastic atmosphere," said head coach Emily Ahlquist. "The student-athletes and fans really came out and got our team going and kept us going, keeping the energy level high."
For Rider (2-6), senior co-captain Amy Jeary (Depew, N.Y./St. Mary's) had 34 digs including career dig 1,500. Jeary is only the third Bronc all-time to hit the 1,500 dig plateau.
"The milestone is pretty cool but any accomplishment that I get is a team accomplishment," Jeary said. "The atmosphere was great. All of the seniors look to give a consistent effort each time out and we want our teammates to follow the example and effort that we give each match."
"Amy has consistently played quality defense her entire career," Ahlquist said. "She has been in control of the back court going on over three seasons. It is a very hard accomplishment to achieve and the fact that she is only the third Bronc to make the 1,500 dig milestone says a lot about the type of player that she has become."
Junior Katelyn Thompson (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothills) just missed a 'double-double' with 13 kills and nine digs with senior co-captain Tara Hansen (Beachwood/Toms River HS South) adding 16 digs.
The crowd, which included over 300 student-athletes was Rider's Code Cranberry promotion where athletes from Rider's other varsity teams come out and cheer on the other respective sports as a unified showing of support among the Rider students in conjunction with the 20 sports, 1 team effort.
The first set was a back and forth battle, featuring nine ties and four lead changes. Tied at 17, Rider went on a 4-0 run, with Hansen serving all four points. The Broncs took advantage of an attack error and Explorer service error to clinch the set by five.
The second set had 10 ties and four lead changes. Trailing 20-17, Rider rallied, winning five of the next six points to take a 22-21 lead, two kills by senior Alex Chapla (Aliquippa, Pa./Center Area). Chapla had 12 kills and led Rider with 15.5 points in the match. Trailing 25-24 and facing match point, the Broncs again rallied, using the service of freshman Briana Wallace (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) and two La Salle attack errors to win the set with a 3-0 run. Wallace finished with six kills and four digs.
After the 10-minute intermission, La Salle broke an 11-11 tie with a 5-0 run before the Broncs tied the set at 20 using three Explorer attack errors. La Salle recovered to win five of the final seven points and force a fourth set.
Rider broke a 4-4 tie and opened up a 13-8 lead in set four, three kills by senior Brittany Hayes (Mitchellville, Md./Elizabeth Seton). Hayes had 14 kills, five digs and two blocks, accounting for 14 of Rider's points.
Trailing 19-13, La Salle cut the Bronc lead to two (20-18) but could get no closer as two kills by Chapla in the last five points clinched the match for Rider.
Overall, there were 28 ties and 12 lead changes in the match that lasted just under two hours.
Also for the Broncs, junior Elyse Grassmuck (San Antonio, Texas/La Vernia) had 26 assists with fellow setter, junior Amanda Piccolini (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) adding 16 assists.
"Both captains played a steady match," Ahlquist said of Hansen and Jeary. "Tara came in at key points and served a 'floater' ball and put it in spots where La Salle didn't get to it easily. And Amy did her damage on defense, taking control when we needed a key point with La Salle attacking. They both took control of different aspects of the match and that's what you want your seniors and captains to do."
"It was awesome to have everyone's support," said Hansen. "Code Cranberry is one of the best things that we've done in the Department of Athletics here at Rider. The supporting fans really helped us through the down points of the match. I tried to get into a zone. Everyone is looking up to you as a senior and I want to make sure I do things right and lead by example."
"We're still coming together," Jeary added. "We're working really hard in practice and we're just really excited that things are starting to come together."
"It's still early in the season and even though it wasn't a pretty match, we maneuvered our back row flawlessly," Ahlquist added. "It is always a tough match when we play La Salle, the teams are evenly matched and you saw a little of that tonight as neither team could get much momentum against the other."
Rider defeated the Explorers 3-0 in 2008 in Philadelphia, Pa., and has now won 12 of the 33 matches in the series that started in 1980.
Rider travels to the Lafayette/Lehigh Invite on September 11-12, taking on Providence on Friday before facing Lehigh and Lafayette on Saturday.
"I am looking forward to the weekend," Ahlquist said. "We are always competitive with those three opponents. Obviously we have to work on some things but it is early and it is a little easier to work on some of those things coming off a win."
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