LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – After splitting the first four sets this evening, host Rider was able to claim a fifth set victory on the way to a 3-2 (19-25, 25-20, 12-25, 26-24, 11-15) win against the Iona volleyball team.

The Broncs (7-9, 2-3 MAAC) broke a 7-7 tie in the final set on a Hailey Riede kill on the way to a 15-11 set win. Jennifer Borio closed out the match with her 13^th kill of the evening.

Borio fell two kills shy of the team-high on the evening as Riede and Savannah Logan ended the evening with a team-best 15 kills each. Veronica Koval set the offense with 51 assists to go along with seven digs and two service aces. Emma Aldaya notched a match-high 22 digs.

Claire Archibald recorded the match-high in kills with 19 for Iona (5-11, 3-2 MAAC) while also adding three service aces and 14 digs. Alexandra Russo added one more dig than Archibald for the team-high and also two service aces. Jamie Smith fell one kill shy of a triple-double behind 11 digs, 11 assists and nine kills in addition to two service aces.

A 6-0 run in the opening set turned a 14-11 deficit for Rider into a 17-14 advantage that included three kills in the stretch from Riede. The spurt proved to create enough of a margin for the Broncs to earn a 25-19 win. Riede and Borio split eight kills in the set for the hosts as Rider swung for a .360 hitting percentage.

The Gaels put on their own 6-0 run in the second set to open an early 7-4 advantage that included two aces from Archibald. The lead later grew to 20-13 following a Karla Johnson kill before Russo ended the set and evened the match at 1-1 with a service ace. Archibald finished the frame with six kills, six digs and two aces.

Rider controlled a majority of the second set by first building a 10-3 lead before growing the margin to 21-9 and finally earning the set win at 25-12 on an Iona service error. The Broncs benefitted from a .478 hitting percentage to post 12 kills led by six from Logan.  

Looking to push the match to a fifth and deciding set, the Gaels strung together a 15-11 lead to open the fourth set. Rider claimed the lead at 18-17 before the two programs traded points for the remainder of the set. With the score tied at 24, Archibald recorded the final two points of the game with a block and kill to force a fifth set.

Trailing 2-0 in the last set, the Maroon & Gold scored five straight points that included two kills from Tess Connolly before Rider tied the game at 6-6 and took the lead for good at 8-7 following Riede's kill.

Iona returns to the road this weekend with a trip to Siena on Saturday for a 1:00 pm first serve before coming back down the Thruway on Sunday to face Marist at 1:00 pm.