College Volleyball

Rider University 3, Providence College 0

LAWRENCEVILLE—Ah, the joys of playing without pressure. Too bad every contest isn’t like this. Unfortunately, they are not. Rider played its final non-conference match of the season Sunday, defeating the Friars of Providence in three straight games.

“We were a lot looser today because it wasn’t a conference game,” said Rider head coach Emily Ahlquist. “Hopefully we come out the same way as we did today in every match from here on out. We just need to maintain our pace when we play other teams no matter what they’re doing.”

Rider (8-13) won by the scores of 30-20, 30-22, 30-15. “Ball control, court balance and communication led to our success today,” said Ahlquist.

For Rider, freshman Lacey Johnson (Auroa, CO/Grandview) compiled 19 defensive digs and six kills. “We came out with a lot of energy and made a lot of good runs,” she said.

The players recognize a difference in play when facing a conference opponent, however. “Last week we were kind of uptight because it was our first conference game,” said Johnson. “We came out with a lot less pressure today.”

Senior Kristine Dormer (Bowie, MD/Elizabeth Seton) beat down the Friars defense compiling 11 kills. Sophomore Nastasja Avromovic (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast) compiled five service aces and tied for a team high 19 digs, and senior Stefanie Lombardo (New Castle, PA/Laurel) added 14 digs with eight kills. Senior Jennifer Drummond (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst) led the team with four blocks.

The Broncs will not change much as they go into the rest of their MAAC schedule. They just want to overcome the psychological pressures of facing conference opponents. “We have eight more conference games coming up. We want to compete in every single one of them,” Ahlquist said.

Rider will be back in the pressure cooker on Friday when the Broncs host conference rival Manhattan.

-RU-