October 7, 2006 - Rider 3 Marist 1
October 7, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Women’s College Volleyball
Rider University 3, Marist College 1
LAWRENCEVILLE—Playing in just her seventh collegiate match and her 16th game of the season, freshman Jenna Landis took advantage of an opportunity and helped the Rider Broncs come back to defeat Marist in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match on Saturday.
After losing the first game 30-24, Rider (6-11, 4-4 MAAC) won three straight over Marist (4-13, 2-6 MAAC), 30-24, 31-29, 30-24. “It was a dog-fight today,” said Rider head coach Emily Ahlquist. “We’re very evenly matched so there were a lot of long points and long games.”
Rider began the second game with Landis (Brinklow, MD/Chepelgate) serving, and the Broncs quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead, with Landis collecting a pair of service aces. “That was a huge turning point,” said Ahlquist. “After losing game one we came out really fired up, and wanted to put pressure on them, and that’s what we did.”
“I was pretty amazed that they were not picking my serves up,” said Landis. “I was really excited that we got the lead in the beginning because that really helped us. I love when they give me opportunities to go in and I just try my hardest and if they continue to put me in I’ll continue to help the team in any way I can.”
In game three Rider trailed 17-8 and took a 30-29 lead, its first lead since 2-1. “We were down by eight or nine in game three and had to fight back,” Ahlquist remembered. “That was another momentum turner for us.”
The Broncs were led by senior Megan Smith (Webster, N.Y./Webster), who had a match-high 16 kills along with seven digs. “Megan played pretty consistent today,” said Ahlquist.
Freshman JoAnna Winter (Hamburg, MN) had 49 assists, and junior Nastasja Avramovic (Philadelphia, Pa./Northeast) had 10 kills and 16 digs.
“It feels great to contribute,” said Landis. “It was really hard to stay on the sidelines and watching the game go on. I just want to jump in all the time. In high school it is more about just getting the ball back over the net. On the college level, there are more running plays that are so much more complicated, so much more intense. The other side gets to balls that I would never expect them to get.”
One thing we can expect, is for freshman Jenna Landis to take advantage of an opportunity.
Rider hosts Canisius October 14.
-RU-
