Rider’s struggles continue, losers of six straight
By Benjamin Shinault
Coming off a rocky performance in the Northern Colorado Tournament, Rider volleyball was only able to win one set over the three matchups. From there, it did not seem to get easier for the Broncs, as they were only able to rummage up two sets in two games at the George Washington Tournament in Washington, D.C. The games took place on Sept. 13 and 14, extending their losing streak to six matches.
‘We just didn’t execute’
On Sept. 13, Rider faced off against the George Washington University Colonials and managed to take the first set 25-19. Unfortunately, they fell short in the next three sets, losing the match. Against George Washington, junior outside hitter Kiannisha Santiago and sophomore outside hitter Rylah Robinson stood out, with Santiago having 17 kills and 12 digs, and Robinson totaling 16 kills.
“Kiannisha had a really good match. Rylah had a really good match. They had a lot of kills and we passed really well, but in the middle of sets two and three, we just lost our ability to block and defend. We just didn’t execute our game plan very well,” Head Coach Jeff Rotondo said.
The fourth set was not a good showing for the Broncs, losing 25-15. With the score set at 14-13, the Broncs only down one, the Colonials went on a run of seven straight points to make the score 21-13. The run ended up being too much for the Broncs to recover from as they notched their first loss of the tournament.
‘Their outsides destroyed us’
Later that night, coming off the loss from George Washington, the Broncs were tasked with taking on the Georgetown Hoyas. After the first set against George Washington, it was downhill for Rider.The trend continued into the matchup against Georgetown as it was shut out 3-0.
The second set was the closest set as Rider only lost 25-19. Rider trailed by only one when the score was 12-11, but then the Hoyas went on a 6-1 run, cementing the win for Georgetown
“We had to find a way to slow them down and I thought we did a good job of that in set two,” Rotondo said, “but overall, we didn’t execute very well on our offensive end.”
Sets one and three were not up to Rider’s standards, losing 25-17 in the first and getting handled mightily to close out the day 25-14 in the final set.
‘Confidence is a big factor’
The last day of the George Washington Tournament was not much different for Rider. They lost once again, 3-1, to give the Broncs’ early season a dreary record of 1-8. Similar to the George Washington matchup, the Broncs were able to take the first set, but after that, it was downhill.
Sophomore libero Carly Zimmet gave some insight on what the Broncs are doing to keep the hopes high amid the 1-8 start.
“We all know to complement each other so we can keep feeling good about ourselves,” Zimmet said. “I feel like in sports, confidence is a big factor in how you play, and I like how our team acknowledges that.”
The first set was won narrowly by Rider 26-24, but in the next two sets combined, Rider was only able to put up 25 points. In the fourth set the Broncs refused to give in, going on 5-0 and 4-0 runs, but the defense of the Broncs was not able to hold firm and ended up giving away the set 25-22.
The next tournaments for Rider include taking on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Virginia Tech in Virginia for the Virginia Tech Tournament. The first game is on Sept. 19 at 12 p.m.
