College Volleyball
Fiesta Bowl Tournament
Northern Arizona 3, Rider University 0
Texas A&M Corpus Christi 3, Rider University 1
Thompson All-Tournament
FLAGSTAFF, Arizona--American short story writer and novelist, Thomas Wolfe coined the now famous quote "You can't go home again." Well, someone forgot to tell that to Rider University volleyball senior Katelyn Thompson (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothills) who returned to her native Arizona and was named to the all-tournament team at the Fiesta Bowl Tournament, hosted by Northern Arizona University September 3-4.
"Katelyn gave us a spark on the outside today," said head coach Emily Ahlquist. "She brought high energy and passed and blocked very well. She gave us what we needed on the floor."
"It felt good to play in front of my friends and family this weekend," Thompson said. "We tried our hardest and it feels good to be recognized. I didn't do it all myself. It was the passers and setters playing well as well."
Even though Rider lost in straight sets to NAU and dropped a hard fought battle with Texas A&M Corpus Christi on the final day of the 18th annual tournament Saturday at the Rolle Activity Center, Thompson compiled 33 kills, 16 digs and four blocks in the three 'home' matches (for her at least) including a 'double-double' of 14 kills and 11 digs against Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
"The second match was a fantastic match for us," said Ahlquist. "We played at a much faster pace and gained a lot of confidence. We did many things well and took a huge step forward as a team."
NAU defeated the Broncs 25-8, 25-14 and 25-12 in the opener with Texas A&M CC defeating Rider in four-sets 25-16, 25-23, 27-29, 25-22.
In the nightcap against the Islanders, senior Amanda Piccolini (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) had 30 assists with senior Elyse Grassmuck (San Antonio, Texas/La Vernia) adding 13 digs. Graduate student Alex Chapla (Aliquippa, Pa./Center Area) chipped in with nine kills.
"Amanda played a steady game," Ahlquist said. "She worked very hard and even picked up a few blocks and Elyse did well, playing at a new position. She is developing every match, passing great and playing solid defense. She served well and looks more comfortable on the floor."
"The trip was awesome and we had a great time coming out here," Piccolini said. "We made huge steps from the first game to the last and we are all really excited about the progress that we did make. We are excited to keep playing and keep getting better."
Trailing two sets to none and 18-15 in set number three against Texas A&M CC, Rider battled all the way back to tie the set on two attack errors and a kill by sophomore Stephanie Nagy (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine). Nagy finished with four kills and seven block assists in the match.
"Steph is always ready to go," Ahlquist said. "She came back ready for a strong sophomore season and I think she will surprise some people. She is a really steady player who may not jump off the stat sheet but will score some key points for the team."
A kill by Piccolini and block assist by Nagy and Thompson tied the set again at 21 as the Broncs battled back again from a three point deficit.
"The team just said 'no more' and went after it late in the third set," Ahlquist said. "They played as one group. The players are feeling more comfortable together and the effort was a culmination of playing our fourth match of the year. You saw a lot of improvement in a short period of time."
"We kept fighting and didn't give up," Piccolini added. "The trip was good for us and gave us some great experience. We've grown together and are focused on one point at a time. We are working together toward our common goals and that shows how much we have matured as a group over the last couple of years."
"We played well together," Thompson said. "We pushed hard and fought and tried to focus on bringing more energy. We worked on not waiting for our opponent to make a mistake and focused on getting one point at a time to get things done."
The teams traded the next 10 points before a service ace by sophomore Brittany Gajewski (Whitehouse Station/Hunterdon Central Regional) won the set 29-27 for the Broncs. Gajewski had seven digs and led the Broncs with three service aces.
After zero ties or lead changes in the first set, the teams combined for 26 ties and 11 lead changes in the final three sets, including 11 ties and five lead changes in the third set alone.
For Rider (1-3) in the opener against NAU (3-3), Grassmuck had 12 assists and seven digs with Thompson adding seven kills against the host Lumberjacks, accounting for eight of Rider's 18 offensive points. NAU built a 13-1 lead in the opening set
and led wire to wire during all three sets. Rider forced three ties, all in the second set.
"We got to work on a few different lineups so that was a positive," said Ahlquist about the first match. "NAU is one of the fastest teams I've seen in the last decade. It is a huge bonus to experience facing a team with that kind of ball control, in front of a loud crowd, while being on television and working through all of the extra timeouts and the lights. The exposure for Rider and the experience of the pressure of the match can only benefit us later."
The NAU-Rider match was televised on Big Sky TV and the Universityhouse Channel on the Dish Network. Later this season, ESPN3 will carry the finals of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship volleyball tournament November 18-21, live from Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
This was the first meeting all-time between Rider and Texas A&M CC. The Broncs and NAU last met in the 2004, also in the Fiesta Bowl tournament with the Lumberjacks winning in straight sets.
Rider defeated Maryland Eastern Shore in straight sets Friday night on day one of the tournament.
After four matches in a row on the road to start the season, Thompson and the rest of the Broncs test the theory of "you can't
go home again" by opening the 2010 home schedule against Temple on September 8 at 6:00pm in Alumni Gym on the Lawrenceville campus. For those who can't attend the match, Gameviewer Livestats will be available on www.GoBroncs.com as well as BroncVision which will carry live video of every home match on a pay per view basis.
"We are excited to come back home and play, especially in Alumni Gym," Thompson added. "We were out of the gym for a long time last season due to the flood so we are really excited for a home crowd, cheering for us."
"We are really excited to play in front of our home crowd," Piccolini added. "Our fans give us a lot of energy and we are excited to get back and show Rider the steps that we took this weekend."
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