2012 Rider Volleyball Schedule Released
LAWRENCEVILLE--Ten non-conference matches, a trip to Maryland for the Loyola tournament and 18 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference matches highlight the 2012 Rider University volleyball schedule that was recently announced.
"I believe our schedule gives our team an opportunity to prepare for the rigors of the MAAC," said head coach Christopher Feliciano who is beginning his second season at Rider. "The way the schedule is formatted, the non-conference slate allows for the team to make the necessary adjustments to improve before we head into conference play."
Rider opens competition on August 24 when the Broncs travel to Brooklyn Heights to take on St. Francis (N.Y.). The Broncs won 3-2 at St. Francis (NY) in the 2011 season opener.
The home opener is the next day, August 25 at 1pm against Howard. Due to the floor being resurfaced in Alumni Gym, that match and the August 29 (6pm) match against Fairleigh Dickinson will take place in the Student Recreation Center.
On August 26, the Broncs travel to Easton, Pennsylvania to take on the Leopards of Lafayette College before heading to Lehigh (Bethlehem, Pa.) to face the Mountain Hawks that evening.
The Alumni Gymnasium opener is Tuesday, September 4 at 6pm when the Broncs host Providence.
"I'm really excited to get the team back to competing," Feliciano said. "Last season we did not have a great season in terms of wins and losses but we did see an increase in several major statistical categories as well as an increase in our competitive drive. We will look to continue to improve in all areas of the game and pay close attention to detail in 2012."
As a team, Rider was 35th in the nation in 2011 averaging 1.5 aces per set.
Rider competes at the Loyola Maryland tournament in Baltimore September 7-8, facing the host Greyhounds in a MAAC match on the 7th and playing Morgan State and Charleston Southern on the 8th in two non-conference matches.
Other non-conference matches include a trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to face La Salle on September 12, a trip to Dover to face Delaware State on October 25 and a home match against Fordham on November 7.
Rider makes its annual trip to Western, New York on September 22-23 when the Broncs face three-time defending MAAC champion Niagara and perennial power Canisius.
The home conference schedule begins on September 29 when Rider hosts Fairfield in a 1pm match. The Stags advanced to the MAAC championship match in 2011 before losing to Niagara 3-1.
The Broncs also host MAAC matches against Iona on September 30, Manhattan (October 6), Saint Peter's (October 7), Loyola Maryland (October 20), Canisius (October 27), Niagara (October 28) and Siena on November 10.
On Sunday, November 11, the Broncs host Marist in the final contest of the regular season and Rider will honor its four graduating seniors, Meg Cook, Brittany Gajewski, Stephanie Nagy and Haley Wilson prior to the match.
The four-team MAAC Championship takes place at Fairfield November 17-18.
The Broncs return 13 letterwinners including sophomore Jaclyn Webber (Anaheim, Calif./Canyon) who was eighth in the MAAC and 221st nationally averaging 3.16 kills per set and sophomore Ashlee Amatulli (Menifee, Calif./Temecula Valley) who was ninth in the MAAC and 115th nationally averaging 0.33 aces per set.
All home volleyball matches will be streamed on BroncVision, the pay per view video stream of Rider Athletics.
Free livestats for all home matches and most away contests will be available at GoBroncs.com.
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