NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College volleyball team held on to control of its own postseason destiny with a three-set win over Rider at the Hynes Center.  With a win over Marist on Senior Day tomorrow, the Gaels (18-11, 10-7 MAAC) can clinch the No. 4 seed in the upcoming MAAC Championship next weekend.

Rookie Rachelle Wilson led the way with 12 kills on 18 attempts with no errors for a .667 hitting percentage.   Sophomore Rachel Whitten added 10 kills including a team-best seven in the opening set.   Iona's all-around effort was supported by excellent efforts by senior Kendall Paulus, junior Sarah Wiener and sophomore Colleen Genett.   Genett matched a three-set school record with nine blocks including four solo stuffs.   She added five kills on 14 attempts for a .357 hitting percentage.  Paulus posted eight kills and hit .350 while Wiener had seven kills, five digs and four blocks.  Sophomore setter Alyssa Erickson recorded 27 assists in three sets played and added five digs.  Sophomore libero Allison Nieters recorded a match-high 23 digs in the win.

As a team, the Gaels hit .339 and recorded 11 blocks in the three-set, 25-16, 25-18, 25-23 win.

Entering the final day of the regular season, the Gaels stand in a tie for fourth place with Manhattan.   Iona holds the tiebreaker vs. the Lady Jaspers as they won five of the eight sets played in the series split.   Marist is knocking on the door as well and can tie for fourth with a win and a Manhattan loss.  The outcome of the three-way breaker will be determined by the outcome of the Iona-Marist contest.   The Gaels and Red Foxes have first serve at 2:00 pm on Sunday.

GAME SCORES               1  2  3  TEAM RECORDS
Rider............... (0) 16 18 23  9-18, 2-15 MAAC
Iona College........ (3) 25 25 25  18-11, 10-7 MAAC