Volleyball falls to Hawks in five

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Four Bulldogs recorded double-digit kills Tuesday night while the home side served up 10 aces and 20 blocks, but it was the University of Hartford who came away with the five-set win, climbing out of a 2-1 hole to top the Bryant University volleyball team, 3-2, at the Chace Athletic Center.

Senior Maria Scocca (Melrose, Mass.) paved the way for Bryant (3-7) with 19 kills and six blocks while hitting at a .357 attack percentage, while fellow co-captain Jazmin Stoner (Durango, Colo.) collected her sixth double-double of the season with 15 kills and 13 digs (3 aces) on the night. Behind the pair were sophomores Alexandria Clyburn (Cartersville, Ga.) and Kendall Gaffney (Colorado Springs, Colo.) with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Clyburn also chipped in four blocks and a pair of aces while Gaffney recorded her second double-double of the 2011 campaign, tacking on 20 digs.

Junior libero Macy Mitravich (Waimanalo, Hawaii) picked up a team-best 22 digs while both setters, junior Jadith Lorenzo (Lawrence, Mass.) and sophomore Leigh Fishback (Edmonds, Wash.), also put up double-double efforts, the first for Fishback in her career. Lorenzo's 25 assists (14 digs) paced the Bulldogs while Fishback chipped in a career-high 24 assists and 10 digs.

For the Hawks (7-6), Kami Nethersole would fire a match-best 22 kills with just four errors and added 15 digs for a double-double of her own, as Sateeta Nethersole and Michelle Cordell also recorded double-figure kills with 16 and 13, respectively. Setter Jackie Tamburri dished out 46 helpers with 10 digs, while Dionna Kirton's 27 digs were the most of the contest. Lindsay Anderson put up eight stuffs for the visitors, who were out-blocked by just one, 20-19.

Bryant took the early 1-0 edge with a dominating 25-15 win over the visiting Hawks, but Hartford fought back in set two to tie the score with a 25-19 victory. The Bulldogs took a closely contested game three, 25-21, before Hartford came out on top of a neck-and-neck fourth frame, 26-24. The Hawks would take the lead early in the fifth and deciding set and won, 15-12. This was the second match between these two squads on the young 2011 season, and the second five-set loss for the Black and Gold.

The Bulldogs return to action on Friday, Sept. 16 when they travel to crosstown rival Brown for the two-day Brown Invitational. Bryant will be tested by a familiar opponent in the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore first on Friday at 4 p.m., a team the Bulldogs lost to just four days ago at the Bryant Invitational.