Nov. 18, 2010

Box Score

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The Marist volleyball team lost to Rider 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 29-27) in the opening round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championship at ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex on Thursday. Senior Lindsey Schmid (Austin, Texas) and freshman Grace Hill (Portage, Mich.) each had six kills in the match.

Schmid also contributed three service aces for the Red Foxes, while junior Leeann Harridsleff (Simi Valley, Calif.) led the team with 12 digs and junior Kayla Burton (Kissimmee, Fla.) added 18 assists. Marist (13-18, 8-11 MAAC) began the match trailing Rider 4-0 in the first set. The Red Foxes would come within three points with the score 9-6 after a service ace from Schmid, but that is the closest they would come to the Broncs, losing the first set 25-15.

After a kill from Schmid tied the second set 3-3, Rider (4-25, 3-16 MAAC) went on an 8-1 run forcing Marist to take a timeout down 11-4. The Red Foxes closed the gap 12-8 with a kill from senior Allie Burke (Alpharetta, Ga.) but the Broncs would gain another large advantage, with Marist using its second timeout with a score of 17-9. After trailing by nine points, a service ace from Burton forced a Rider timeout with a score of 21-16. The Red Foxes came within two with a kill from sophomore Katie Estes (Saugus, Calif.) to make it 24-22, but they could not surpass the Broncs and dropped the second set 25-22, behind 2-0 in the match.

In the third and final set Marist found itself in an early 5-0 hole. After Rider held a sizeable lead for much of the set, a block from Burke and Hill followed by a service ace from Estes brought Marist within three at 18-15. A few points later, a kill by Burton would tie the set 20-20, and then a service ace from Schmid would give the Red Foxes a set point with a score of 24-23 over the Broncs. From there the teams saw four tie scores and three lead changes before Rider ultimately put the set away in extra points, 29-27, giving Marist a 3-0 loss in the match.

For Rider, Alex Chapla had 13 kills and Amanda Piccolini added 37 assists. The Broncs also received 21 digs from Elyse Grassmuck.

Marist (13-18) will continue tournament play in the outbracket on Friday. The Red Foxes will play at 11 a.m. against eighth-seeded Siena. If they win, they will then play again at 2 p.m. Friday against sixth-seeded Loyola.