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Canisius University Athletics

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Hannah Nelson goes up for the attack at RIder on Nov. 2, 2019
Beth Lochner
2
Canisius Canis 10-16,10-7 MAAC
3
Winner Rider Rider 16-11,13-4 MAAC
Canisius Canis
10-16,10-7 MAAC
2
Final
3
Rider Rider
16-11,13-4 MAAC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Canisius Canis 25 25 19 21 12 (2)
Rider Rider 15 19 25 25 15 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

Rider Comes Back to Defeat Volleyball

The host Rider Broncs scored three-straight set wins, including a 15-12 victory in the fifth-and-deciding set, to come back from an 0-2 hole and defeat Canisius in MAAC volleyball action Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium in Lawrenceville, N.J. Rider took the match by scores of 15-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-12.
 
The win moves Rider to 16-11 overall and 13-4 in league play and locks the Broncs into either the second or third seed in next weekend's MAAC Volleyball Championship in Loudonville, N.Y. The Golden Griffins slipped to 10-16 overall and 10-7 in MAAC play with their second-straight loss. The Griffs have already clinched a berth into the conference's championship tournament, but their seeding will be determined with the remaining results of the weekend.
 
MATCH RECAP
Canisius raced out to an early 2-0 lead in the match after the Griffs hit a .254 as a team through the first two sets, while holding Rider to a team attack percentage of .099 prior to the contest's intermission. In the opening set, Canisius jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and never looked back. Senior Rachel Kinney put down four kills in the first set and fellow senior Hannah Nelson dropped in three service aces as the Blue and Gold cruised to the 25-15 victory. In the second set, Canisius' offense kept rolling, as Kinney, Nelson, senior Camila Vazquez and freshman Kara Zaucha combined to record 12 kills for the visiting team.
 
Out of the intermission, Rider started its comeback, as the Broncs won the third set 25-19. In that frame, the home team flipped the script, hitting .424 as a team, while holding the Griffs to a .133 attack percentage. In the fourth set, a set-error charged to Rider allowed Canisius to get within three points at 19-16, but the Broncs forced a fifth and deciding set by scoring six of the set's closing 10 points, highlighted by a 4-0 scoring run that turned a three-point contest into a 23-16 advantage for Rider.
 
In the final set, Rider led the Griffs 9-4 before Kinney and Nelson scored two points for Canisius, and the Blue and Gold took advantage of two Rider attack errors. Later in the set, Nelson cut Rider's lead to one point at 13-12 with a kill, however, the Broncs scored the final two points of the match to earn the victory, giving Rider a sweep of the regular-season series between the two schools.
 
Kinney and Nelson led the way for Canisius, as both seniors posted 12 kills and 11 digs in the losing effort. Nelson also added four service aces to the Griffs' cause. Vazquez was good for nine kills, two solo blocks and two block assists, while Zaucha scored eight kills to go with five block assists and three digs. Senior setter Ashley Kekeisen recorded 32 assists to go with 18 digs and four kills and junior libero Bree Long chipped in a team-high 20 digs in the loss.
 
GAME NOTES
• Saturday marked the 45th all-time meeting between these two programs in volleyball. Canisius leads the series 40-15, however, Rider's win extended the Broncs' win streak in the series to four straight.
• Nelson has now posted double-digit kills in four of the teams last six contests, and she has multiple service aces to her credit in four of the Griffs' last five outings.
• Kinney has posted 12-or more kills in three of the team's last five matches and is now averaging 2.75 kills per set in that time frame.
• Vazquez's two block assists on Saturday gives her 253 in her career, which ranks seventh all-time in program history.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will close out the 2021 regular season Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., when the team travels to play at Saint Peter's. The match against the Peacocks will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
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