October 31, 2005 - Iona 3 Rider 1
October 31, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
College Volleyball
Iona College 3, Rider University 1
NEW ROCHELLE, NY—Almost. The Broncs almost won their first MAAC match of the season. Almost. The Broncs almost knocked off the first place Gaels from Iona.
In a night of spirited play and high intensity, Rider (8-17, 0-5 MAAC) lost to Iona (11-15, 6-0 MAAC) 30-26, 29-31, 19-30, 19-30.
“We fought the entire match, ran fast and had high intensity,” said Rider head coach Emily Ahlquist. “We never quit. I can’t ask for any more effort than that.”
The Broncs did manage to defeat the Gaels in the first game, something that has happened only one other time to Iona in the 20 league games (six matches) this season.
And the Broncs almost defeated the Gaels in game two, falling 31-29 after rallying from an eight point deficit. Almost.
“I am proud of the fact that Iona’s coach Kris Zeiter said he is glad he doesn’t have to play us again,” added Ahlquist who is in her seventh season at Rider. “The way we are playing, we are going to beat someone in the MAAC, it’s just a matter of when. Teams don’t want to play us, the next thing we need is some wins.”
For the Broncs, senior Kristine Dormer (Bowie, Md./Elizabeth Seton) had a ‘triple-double’ with 14 assists, 12 digs and 10 kills. Dormer also added six blocks.
“The team is playing each game as if it was a do or die situation,” said Dormer. “We know we have struggled this year but we owe it to each other to finish strong and that will help the underclassman become better players for next season.”
“We all feel we are playing our best,” added Dormer who is a Global Business and Marketing major at Rider. “We were able to hang with the first place team in the MAAC tonight, not just show up, we were able to beat them in the first game and almost beat them in the match.”
Almost. “As a senior, I would rather a few more wins than respect but we played hard and that’s all we can keep doing,” Dormer added.
Also for Rider, senior Embrey Minor (Davidsonville, Md./Bowie) had 23 assists with freshman Lacey Johnson (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) adding 14 digs and 11 kills and senior Stefanie Lombardo (New Castle, Pa./Laurel) adding 10 kills.
The Broncs return home on Saturday, facing Marist in a MAAC match at 4:00pm.
-RU-
