Rider tops Canisius and Niagara, extends win streak
By Glendale Eversley and Terrell Munford
WITH the end of the regular reason approaching, Rider volleyball is playing well at the right time as the Broncs won both of their road games against Canisius and Niagara to extend their win streak to three.
Rider moved to 9-7 in conference play, good enough for sixth in the standings.
‘There are phases that clicked’
On the road against Canisius for the first of two road games on Nov. 4, the Broncs started off well with a 3-2 win.
The Golden Griffins quickly got out to a 10-5 advantage and held their lead for the remainder of the set, never allowing the Broncs to pull within three points of Canisius.
The Broncs responded in set two after trailing 8-4 with five straight points to regain the lead.
After a Canisius side out that notched the set at nine, freshman outside hitter Paige Giehtbrock came with three straight kills, putting Rider up 12-9.
The Broncs extended their run to 12-2, giving them a 16-10 edge in the set. Up 17-16, Rider pulled away with a 7-1 run.
The Broncs’ dominance came to a halt with Rider leading 4-2 in set three, Canisius took the lead with a soaring 6-0 run. After Rider cut the lead 11-9, Canisius rallied with a 6-1 run and the Broncs never recovered.
Rider, who maintained an early lead in the fourth set, went up 12-6 despite not scoring more than three-straight points during the run. The Golden Griffins clawed back to pull within 19-18, but the Broncs came up clutch, scoring three straight points and outscoring Canisius. With a 6-2 run, a fifth set was forced.
The Broncs dominance returned early in the deciding set, leading the way 7-1 with two kills by sophomore middle hitter Carley McAleavey and two blocks from freshman middle hitter Molly Rohde. Canisius fought back to cut the lead 8-6, but neither team could win a point on serve for the remainder of the match.
After the game, Head Coach Jeff Rotondo commented on the team’s resilience during the match and the team’s passing phase.
“There are phases that clicked better, we were really sloppy in our passing phase. The entire match throughout, we got aced 21 times which is kind of abnormal,” Rotondo said.
“The good thing for us was seeing how their energy kind of didn’t dip when we lost that first set. They stayed determined that they weren’t going to walk out there with a loss.”
McAleavey shines at Niagara
On Nov. 5, Rider closed out its double header with a three-set victory over Niagara on Nov. 5. The Broncs improved to 10-15 on the season and 9-7 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play, moving into a tie for fifth in the standings with two matches left to play to clinch a playoff spot.
The start of set one had Niagara jump out to a 6-2 lead early, but a pair of 3-0 runs by the Broncs tied the set 11-11.
With Rider leading 13-12, Niagara went on a 4-0 run to once again take the lead. Down 17-14, the Broncs took the lead back with a 6-1 run, including an ace by senior libero Molly Strah, Rider eventually closed out the set.
In the second set, it was a back-and-forth affair, as it featured nine ties throughout.
The final tie of the set was at 21-21 before Rider scored back-to-back points to go ahead 23-21 in the set, then consecutive side outs following Niagara points.
“We waited them out until Niagara made an error to give the second set to us,” said Rotondo.
Rider had all the control throughout the third set, acquiring three aces with the Broncs building out a 5-0 lead.
While leading 13-6, the Broncs scored four straight points off the serve of McAleavey in the set.
The Broncs allowed Niagara just two points on their own serve and closed out the set 25-13 to win the match.
“Our key always every match is to try and win the serve pass battle and stay aggressive and match them in blocks” said Rotondo after the win.
Rider’s next matchup is against the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Nov. 11 to start its two-game weekend ahead of the MAAC Tournament.
The final tie of the set was at 21-21 before Rider scored back-to-back points to go ahead 23-21 in the set, then consecutive side outs following Niagara points.
“We waited them out until Niagara made an error to give the second set to us,” said Rotondo.
Rider had all the control throughout the third set, acquiring three aces with the Broncs building out a 5-0 lead.
While leading 13-6, the Broncs scored four straight points off the serve of McAleavey in the set.
The Broncs allowed Niagara just two points on their own serve and closed out the set 25-13 to win the match.
“Our key is always every match is to try and win the serve pass battle and stay aggressive and match them in blocks” said Rotondo after the win. “We got a really tough matchup this weekend as we hope to wrap it up and get into the playoffs.”
Rider’s next matchup is against the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Nov. 11 to start its two-game weekend ahead of the MAAC Tournament.
