Woes continue for the Broncs, swept in all three

By Jon Coiro and Joshua Yuhas

Taking their first moments in the newly renamed Canastra Hammer Arena, Rider volleyball dropped both home matches, falling 3-0 to Marist and Siena Universities, then hit the road in a 3-0 loss against Saint Peter’s University.

Early slumps and surges

Rider’s home opener on Sept. 25 kicked off with a 6-0 Marist run in the first set, all under the serves of the same Marist outside hitter.

After the Broncs broke the drought, senior outside hitter Rylah Robinson’s first serve attempt could not clear the net with Marist holding the upper hand, 

The Red Foxes led 19-11 before going on their second 6-0 run to take the opening set.

Set two began on consecutive kills by senior opposite hitter Anja Kelly before a service error put Marist on the board.

A pair of 5-0 spurts by the Red Foxes helped them grab an 11-6 advantage.

Marist put their foot down again with a run that featured three straight service aces, securing a 25-16 win of the second set.

Set three was an eye opener at the start, with Rider opened set three on an 8-0 run out of the gate, which saw freshman outside hitter Maisie Nawrocki pick up three kills of her own.

The Broncs had their biggest cushion at 11-2, until Marist clawed back into the set.

The Red Foxes completed a comeback on a kill for the tie and eventually when tied at 23, they went on a run to complete the sweep on the Broncs.  

Unable to hang on

After early 3-0 runs were exchanged to kick off the opening set on Sept. 26, back-and-forth action began the Broncs’ matchup against the Saints.

Once Rider got a point back to trail 8-7, Siena stood out following the official timeout.

Senior libero Simone Langford sprawling efforts in the matchup helped to set up tie up set one.

“When under pressure, every single ball matters, so I’m going to throw myself out there to make sure the job gets done,” Langford said.

A Rider timeout could not stop the Saints’ momentum, dropping the first set, 25-21.

The Broncs led 6-5 in set two before Siena went on a pair of big runs for a 7-point lead.

After Rider’s second timeout, the out-of-bounds struggles kept the Saints in a comfortable position en route to another set win, this time at 25-13.

In the final set, Siena came out swinging with an early 6-1 run.

Trailing 19-14, Rider manufactured a 7-1 run to come back and tie it at 20, with Bonacci’s tying kill sending Canastra Hammer Arena into a frenzy.

“Our scouting helped through studying film, knowing where [Siena’s] outsides would swing and where to be positioned off the line,” said Langford.

Siena was one point away from losing, but a huge batch of kills turned the tide for a Saint advantage, and an attack error by Robinson was the finishing touch for the sweep.

“We just weren’t able to execute coming out of the timeout…portions of [set three] were good but we’re too high error on the attack phase,” Rotondo said.

Struggle on the road

In the opening set on Sept. 29, the Broncs went back-and-forth with the Peacocks, tying at the 10, 12, 17 and 20-point marks.

Saint Peter’s would then go on a run to close the first set with a 25-22 set win.

Set two saw the match shift in the Peacocks favor, where a 25-16 set gave them a 2-0 advantage.

Domination struck in the final set with the Broncs mustering just 11 points and closing the sweep.

The Broncs will host consecutive Metro Conference matchups at Canastra Hammer Arena, playing Canisius University on Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. and Niagara University on Oct. 3 at 2 p.m.