Rider Volleyball Schedule Released
Trips to Flagstaff, Arizona and Orlando, Florida highlight the 2010 Rider University volleyball schedule that was released Wednesday.
The Broncs open at La Salle on August 31 before traveling west for the Fiesta Bowl Tournament, hosted by Northern Arizona University September 3-4. The Broncs will also face Maryland Eastern Shore and Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the tournament.
"The players love the non-conference schedule," said head coach Emily Ahlquist who is beginning her 12th season at Rider. "We are competing against some tough competition early on to help us get ready for the conference schedule."
Rider opens the home portion schedule in Alumni Gym with a non-conference match against Temple at 6:00pm on September 8.
"The nine non-conference matches will challenge and prepare us for the 18-match grind that is the conference schedule," Ahlquist said. "Each MAAC match is a tough battle and we will do our best to simulate that competition by playing some pretty solid teams to begin the season."
After participating in the Rose Hill Classic against Stony Brook, Harvard, Syracuse and the host Rams of Fordham, September 10-11, the Broncs start the 18-match Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference schedule with home matches against Manhattan (September 18) and 2009 MAAC regular season champion Fairfield on September 19. Rider defeated the Stags in Lawrenceville last season, one of only two regular season conference losses for Fairfield.
Niagara University, which won the MAAC tournament and went to NCAAs in 2009, returns to Alumni Gym for a 1:00pm match on October 17.
Rider hosts four out of five matches to complete the 2010 regular season before all 10 MAAC teams head to Disney and the MAAC tournament in Orlando, Florida on November 18-21.
The Broncs return 12 letterwinners including senior Amanda Piccolini (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) who was seventh in the MAAC and 245th nationally in assists per set with 7.52.
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