August 26, 2006 - UMBC 3 Rider 0 / La Salle 3 Rider 1
August 26, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
College Volleyball
Colgate Classic – Day 2 - Johnson All-Tournament Honors
Univ. of Maryland-Baltimore County 3, Rider University 0
La Salle University 3, Rider University 1
HAMILTON, N.Y.—Back to back. For teams that have won championships, it is very difficult to do. For teams playing in season, it is even more difficult. After playing the final tournament match late Friday night, the Broncs were on the court bright and early Saturday, losing both matches on the final day of the Colgate Classic Saturday.
“This was a good solid tournament with very strong competition,” said head coach Emily Ahlquist. “In the first match, the combination of UMBC having a very good team and Rider having less than 12 hours between matches, the players, even the veterans aren’t used to that type of turn around.”
La Salle defeated Rider (0-3) 30-25, 30-19, 27-30, 30-21, after UMBC defeated the Broncs 30-20, 30-7, 30-27 earlier in the day.
Against the Explorers, sophomore Lacey Johnson (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) has 17 digs and 12 kills, for her seventh career ‘double-double’ and second of the weekend, earning all-tournament honors. Junior Katrina Stehle (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) also added a ‘double-double’ with 11 kills and 11 digs.
“It took us a little bit to get going, especially this morning,” Ahlquist added. “But once we got going, I think we played a lot better and with more energy.”
Freshman Amy Jeary (Depew, N.Y./St. Mary’s) added 19 digs and freshman Tara Hansen (Beachwood, N.J./Toms River HS South) had 17 digs for the Broncs.
Down two games, Rider won game three 30-27. In that game, La Salle over came an eight point deficit tying the score at 17 before Rider rallied for the win with an 8-3 run.
“The first match, we struggled with playing that early, especially with playing late the night before,” said sophomore accounting major Lindsay Brant (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach). “In the second match, we had a lot more intensity and we were moving the ball a lot better. Overall, we just played better in the second match. We just picked up our energy a lot and were moving better and communicating more against La Salle.” Brant had 15 attacks, four kills and three blocks against the Explorers.
“This team fights no matter what the score is,” Ahlquist said. “That’s one of the great things about this team is that they will fight and compete no matter what the situation is. We did some different looks to throw off the opposing team and to also give the coaching staff different options mixing different combinations, putting different players in different positions and see where their strengths are so that we can put the strongest lineup on the floor.”
Against the Retrievers, Johnson posted 11 digs and four kills with Stehle adding nine kills and six digs. Jeary added nine digs and three service aces for the Broncs.
“We took a lot of positives out of the tournament,” Ahlquist said. “They just have to realize that even though we’re tired and we got out of the gym late the night before, our opponent is going to come and play and we have to be ready to match that energy and effort from the first point.”
Rider travels to Philadelphia next weekend, September 1-2 for the La Salle Invitational against Maryland-Eastern Shore, UNC-Wilmington, Bucknell and the host Explorers. The Broncs open the 2006 home schedule against Eastern Washington on September 4.
-RU-
