Volleyball falls in season finale

In addition to honoring senior Robyn Gardner, the Bryant volleyball team honored team practice players and team manager prior to the start of Sunday's match with St. Francis (NY).

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- Jazmin Stoner (Durango, Colo.) had a team-best 15 kills while freshman middle blocker Mariah Burgess (Urbana, Ill.) added 10 kills and five blocks, but it was not enough as the Bryant University women's volleyball team closed out the season with a 3-1 loss to visiting St. Francis (NY) at the Chace Athletic Center.

The match marked the final appearance for Bryant's lone senior, Robyn Gardner (Longwood, Fla.) who was honored by her teammates and coaching staff prior to the start of Sunday's match.  Playing in her 115^th career match, Gardner, a defensive specialist, played very well in her final match in a Bulldog uniform, finishing with a team-best 13 digs.

After dropping the first set, 25-17 to the Terriers, the Bulldogs came back strong in the second thanks to excellent defensive play at the net.  The Bulldogs stepped up against the dangerous hitters from Saint Francis and raced out to a quick 14-8 lead following a pair of blocks from Nicole Percz (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) and Emily Kaup (Chandler, Ariz).

 After failing to register a single block in the first set, the Bulldogs came out firing in the second and chalked up seven team blocks in the second set alone.   

Leading 20-15, Gardner helped the Bulldogs rattle off four straight points with strong serving to push the Bulldogs to set point 24-15.  After a side out by the Terriers, Percz and Burgess teamed up with a big block on SFNY's Amisa Lila to even up the match at one set apiece.

But from there, St. Francis (NY) would not be denied as the Terriers pulled out a tough 25-23 win in the third and closed out the match with a 25-20 win in the fourth.

Lila led all scorers with a game-high 20 kills on 50 swings for the Terriers who improved to 10-19 overall and 6-10 in the Northeast Conference. Teammate Marina Georgieva added 18 kills and hit .300 for the match. As a team, St. Francis (NY) hit .242 and finished with 11 service aces, getting four from Maria Kashavelova.

Percz finished the game with six blocks to go with her five kills while Burgess and Maria Scocca (Melrose, Mass.) both had five blocks.

Bryant finishes the season with an impressive  18-17 overall record in only the team's third year competing at the Division I level, and 5-11 in the Northeast Conference.