Thanks in part to a marathon second-set victory, Rider took care of Marist in four sets on Saturday, 3-1.
Following a win in the opening set, the Broncs outlasted the Red Foxes 30-28 in the second set, which was intended to go to just 25 points. Neither side could win by two until six set points later when Rider finally ended the set off of an ace from junior outside hitter Kiannisha Santiago.
Rider (6-12, 5-1 MAAC Conference) then held a two sets to none cushion, eventually going on to win the match 3-1 (25-20, 30-28, 23-25, 25-17). The Broncs entered Saturday’s match as one of the top teams in the MAAC, tied for second place just one game behind the Fairfield Stags.
Riding high off their first win of the season, Marist (1-15, 1-5 MAAC) aimed to keep the momentum rolling as they tried to play themselves back into the playoff picture as one of the top eight teams of the conference. A bright spot in the loss, freshman outside hitter Taylor Miller tallied a new career high in kills with 23.
The Broncs did not let Marist settle in early in the match, sprinting out of the gates. Rider won four of the first five points, and sloppy Marist passing helped the Broncs get out to a 10-4 lead. They aced the Red Foxes twice in the early going, and Marist overpassed on several occasions to set up some easy attacks for the Broncs.
The Red Foxes clawed their way back into the set on a 4-1 run powered by strong swings from Miller, but Rider momentarily stopped their momentum by taking a lengthy point that saw both sides have multiple opportunities to win it.
Marist continued to chip away at the lead, in large part thanks to Miller’s offensive output. They cut the lead to one at 21-20 but as Miller rotated out of the front row, the Marist offense went quiet, conceding the following four points and the set to the Broncs. In the first set alone, Miller recorded seven kills on a .400 hitting percentage.
The second set of the day embodied much of Marist’s struggles in MAAC play in the season so far. The Red Foxes looked strong early on, maintaining a healthy lead that hovered around three to four points for the majority of the set. But, as the set dwindled down to the late stages, Marist’s opponent – this time Rider – fought back to ultimately erase the deficit.
The Red Foxes at one point led 22-16, then 23-19, but the Broncs rallied to knot the score at 23. From there, the two sides embarked on a wild finish to the set, splitting the next 10 points. Rider reached their fourth set point at 29-28, where Santiago’s ace, as mentioned earlier, finally put the set to bed.
Marist and Rider continued their back-and-forth nature into the third set. Neither could distance themselves; the lead never got above two for either side, and the set remained tied at 18. The Broncs then won two straight points, prompting a timeout from Marist head coach Sean Byron.
The Red Foxes stayed in it, tying the score at 20 through 23, before finally taking back the lead. They went up 24-23, suddenly reaching set point first after trailing for most of the back half of the set. They converted on their first opportunity; sophomore outside hitter Rylah Robinson’s swing bounced off the net and out of bounds. Initially ruled a touch on the Marist block, Byron challenged the call, which was quickly overturned.
After struggling in the waning points of the second set, the young Marist team made a statement in the third; Rider had multiple instances where it looked as if they could put the set out of reach, but Marist stayed in it and eventually prevailed.
Following their hard-fought win in the third, the Marist offense struggled mightily in the match’s final set. The Red Foxes only landed eight kills while recording nearly as many attack errors with six. On the other hand, Rider’s offense turned up the heat in the fourth, slamming 15 kills with only three attack errors, suitable for a .364 hitting percentage.
Marist’s next chance to get back in the win column comes tomorrow when they match up against Saint Peters. The Peacocks will also enter with an in-conference record of 1-5, meaning the match could go a long way to deciding which teams will grab the last few playoff spots in the MAAC this year. The first serve is set for 1 p.m. in Jersey City.
Edited by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo by Jaylen Rizzo
Graphic by Kira Crutcher
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