The Canisius volleyball team fell in four sets at Rider University at Alumni Gymnasium in Lawrenceville, N.J. on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Griffins lost 19-25, 15-25, 27-25, 16-25 to the Broncs.

Sophomore Katlyn Tyler led all players with 17 kills to go along with 13 digs for her first double-double of the season. Junior Rachel Kline added 12 kills and nine digs. Junior Grace Streicher had 44 assists and eight digs while senior libero Emily Litwin had 32 digs.  

“We did some great things in this match, but really struggled with our passing and energy level at the start ,” Canisius coach Cathy Hummel said. “We need to build on those good things against Saint Peter's tomorrow."

Canisius scored the first five points of the match, but Rider quickly answered with five points of its own and extended the run to 19-5 to build a nine-point lead. The Griffs scored the next three points but couldn't cut into the lead any more as the Broncs took the first set. A kill from freshman Kristin Bendy made the score 6-5 in the second set, but the Broncs scored the next six points to take an 12-5 lead and control of the set and go up 2-0 in the match.

Rider (15-11, 8-4 MAAC) led 17-13 before Canisius made its run in the third set, using a 5-1 run capped by a block from Tyler and fellow sophomore Jacklyn Malusa knotted the score at 18-18. The Griffs would fight off two match points, followed by kills from Tyler and Bendy that gave the set to Canisius.

In the fourth set, the teams stayed close until Rider pulled away late in the set. Tyler had back-to-back kills, which cut the Rider lead to 17-16. The Broncs would win the final eight points to close out the match.

Canisius (6-16, 6-7 MAAC) concludes its weekend trip to the state of New Jersey at Saint Peter's University on Sunday afternoon. Match time in Jersey City is set for 1 p.m.

Notes: Canisius is now 7-2 in sets that go extra points in 2014… Rider swept the regular-season series for the first time since the MAAC went to the double round-robin format in 2006… Litwin had 30-plus digs for the fourth time this season and moved into fifth place on the career list in digs. She now has 1,164 digs… Streicher posted 40-plus assists for the sixth time… Kline had double-digit kills for the third straight match while Tyler posted 10-plus kills for the fourth consecutive match.