Looking for upset

By Paul Szaniawski

The Rider Volleyball team will have its last chance on home court to make some noise in the Metro Athletic Atlantic Conference (MAAC) by trying to upset two of the top teams in the division, Fairfield and Iona.

Both today and Monday, Oct. 31, Rider is looking to turn its mediocre season around after losing three games against MAAC division rivals thus far.

“We are going in this weekend as the underdogs, but I feel we always play better that way,” said senior Stefanie Lombardo. “When we play better teams we play up to their level.”

The Broncs do know something about upsets. In their first MAAC game last year they defeated 2004 regular season champs Fairfield 3-2 at home.

Fairfield and Iona met each other in the MAAC championship final last year, but Rider was almost there instead. The team was only one game away before losing to Iona in the prior round of the tournament.

“I think we all feel we owe it to ourselves to prove to both of these teams that it wasn’t a fluke last year and that we are a good team that is capable of beating them,” said Lombardo.

Lombardo recently reached the milestone of 1,000 digs during Saturday’s loss against Manhattan. An accomplishment like this would usually help to bring a team’s spirits up, but not after a close 3-2 loss.

“At that point we were just kind of frustrated with how we were playing,” said freshman Lacey Johnson. “As a team, no [it didn’t boost our spirits], because of how we were playing, because we know we can play better than that.”

Following the loss to Saint Peter’s, the players had a film night and watched themselves play to identify what they were doing wrong, according to Johnson.

“After losing to Manhattan and Saint Peter’s, we decided the reason for losing isn’t really a physical issue, but more a mental issue,” Lombardo said. “We also need to hustle a lot more and not give up on points. If we show this desire we will definitely end up winning the games that we have been losing.”

The senior stressed the importance of cutting out ball handling and setting errors and other mental mistakes near the end of a game.

“We decided to be more energetic, go for anything on defense and play like we have nothing to lose,” added Johnson.

The volleyball team has to fit into the top four spots of the MAAC standings to enter the playoffs. After losing all three of their division games so far, and with only two more home MAAC games left, they’re running out of time.

“I know personally as a senior, it’s coming down to our last six games or so and there needs to be that sense of urgency,” said Lombardo. “There will be no second chances or,‘We’ll get them next year.”