Championship bound: Broncs defeat Quinnipiac to advance to MAAC finals

By Lindsay Scarola

With the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference semi-finals occurring on Nov. 22, the Rider Broncs went up against the Quinnipiac University Bobcats in a tough battle, but coming out on top 3-1 to advance to the championship round of the MAAC tournament.

Hungry for redemption

Though they struggled against Quinnipiac in the regular season, Rider was determined and hungry to win. 

Tied 2-2 in the opening set, the Bobcats went on a 5-0 run. The Broncs came back at 16-14, but Quinnipiac was able to hold a 20-17 lead. 

A 5-0 run by the Bobcats would close out the match at 25-17, taking a 1-0 lead. 

In the second, the Broncs scored three straight from kills by graduate middle hitter Carley McAleavey and senior opposite hitter Kiannisha Santiago. 

Down 8-6, Quinnipiac went on a 5-1 run to take the lead, but Rider immediately responded with a 6-1 run of its own. 

Tied at 21, the Broncs scored four of the final six in the set, led by three Santagio kills to even the match at 1-1 after a 25-23 win. 

Already leading 5-4 in the third, Rider had full control after going on a 7-0 run. However, Quinnipiac responded with a 7-1 run, followed by a 3-0 run for a 23-22 lead. 

After a side-out by the Broncs, junior libero Simone Langford served an ace. 

Junior setter Makenna Mason made the diving dig to keep a rally alive before the Bobcats gave the final point to Rider on an error. 

A 25-23 victory gave the Broncs the 2-1 edge. 

Down 6-3 in set four, Quinnipiac had a 4-0 run to go up by one. Rider fired back with a 6-1 run to retake the lead. 

Up 13-10, the Broncs started to pull away after scoring three-straight points capped by back-to-back blocks from junior middle hitter Molly Rohde. 

Every side-out opportunity went Rider’s way for the remainder of the match. 

A 25-16 set four win with an overall 3-1 victory sends the Broncs to the MAAC Finals. 

“Really proud of this team’s grit today,” Head Coach Jeff Rotondo said. “They took the first set and the team responded perfectly. Aggression, conviction and no quit. Every player was contributing, and the bench was incredible with energy.”

A star-studded cast

A semifinals victory in the MAAC is not the only accomplishment that Rider has made this season. 

The MAAC revealed their awards for this season, and some Broncs have made the list. 

Both Mason and McAleavey made the All-MAAC second team for all of their outstanding work on the court this season. 

A part of the All-MAAC first team and the only Bronc on it is Santiago, but that’s not all. Santiago was also named MAAC Player of the Year.

She earned her first major award after a standout season where she ranked in the conference’s top five across five different statistical categories, including attacks per set with 9.76, kills per set with 3.92 and 468 total points.

She delivered 396 kills and 210 digs in the year, being highlighted in the game against Niagara University on Oct. 21, where she had a season-high of 25 kills and 28 points. 

The Broncs will now face off against top-seeded Fairfield University in the MAAC Finals on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.