Bulldogs win Mason Invitational with Saturday sweep, trio named to all-tournament team

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University volleyball team completed its sweep through the Mason Invitational Saturday, earning a pair of 3-0 victories over Loyola and Hampton to win the weekend tournament.

Sophomore setter Kirstyn Sperry (Phoenix, Ariz.) posted a stellar all-around day to conclude a strong weekend, posting 12 kills, 52 assists, 14 digs and five blocks on Saturday. She finished the weekend with 17 kills, 75 assists, 29 digs, eight blocks and three aces to earn Mason Invitational MVP honors.

Junior Kiley Robbins (Garland, Texas) led the Bryant (8-8) offense on the day (17 kills) and the tournament (24) to earn an all-tournament team selection of her own, where she was joined by rookie Ava Patterson (Danville, Calif.). Patterson finished Saturday action with 12 kills and seven blocks.

Junior libero Erica Vendituoli (Nashua, N.H.) posted 22 digs in a pair of Saturday matchups, while senior captain Sara DePouw (Oconto, Wis.) and junior Ally Lunsford (Minneola, Fla.) registered double-digit kills with 13 and 12, respectively, playing in five sets each in the Saturday doubleheader.

Bryant vs. Loyola
The Greyhounds (3-7) held the lead just once in a match dominated by the Bulldogs, as even all-around team scoring vaulted the Black and Gold to a 3-0 victory in the first of two Saturday contests.

Patterson led all Bryant scorers with eight kills and was one of five Bulldogs with at least five kills in the contest. The frosh was the most accurate of the bunch with a .583 attack percentage, committing just a single error while also posting a block. Sperry picked up the only double-double for the Black and Gold with 29 assists and 10 digs, also adding seven kills and a team-high three blocks. Robbins echoed the setter's offensive numbers with seven kills of her own, while Vendituoli paced the match defensively with 12 digs.

Ann Ernst and Zoe Pawlak each posted a match-high 10 kills for Loyola, while Molly Werts and Pawlak each registered double-doubles with 17 assists and 12 digs and 10 kills and 10 digs, respectively. Stacey Kazalas contributed seven kills, while Haley Puddy added six more to round out most of the team's 39 kills.

Loyola's only lead came in the opening points of the first frame and lasted until a Kristin Kingi (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) (5 kills, 11 digs) score broke a 4-4 tie. Bryant would lead the rest of the way through all three sets, seeing the score tied only three more times.

The Bulldogs hit .288 as a team and saw aces from Sperry and senior captain Vika Katzen (Kfar Saba, Israel) (9 assists), as well as five team blocks. The Greyhounds hit .178 as a team, posting three team blocks and getting two aces of their own.

Bryant vs. Hampton
Behind 10 kills from Robbins and 11 team blocks, the Bulldogs extended their winning streak to five-straight matches with a 3-0 victory over Hampton in Saturday's Mason Invitational finale.

Bryant posted a .405 team attack percentage – its highest of the season – in the three-set win, seeing eight different players record kills to even up its season record at 8-8. Patterson led the way at the net with six blocks (4 kills) while sophomore Grace Richmeyer (DeSoto, Mo.) added five more. In total, eight different Bulldogs contributed to the team blocking effort.

Lunsford registered eight kills with three blocks and a .636 attack percentage, while DePouw added seven kills with three of the team's nine aces. Rookie Brianna Bruny (Biscayne Park, Fla.) also had a big outing, recording six kills with three stuffs. Sperry shelled out 23 assists with Katzen adding on 16 as Vendituoli picked up a match-high 10 digs.

Reeana Richardson led the way for the Pirates (1-10) with eight kills while Micah Leavell chipped in seven, but Hampton hit just .060 as a team in the loss. Brianna Lilly dished out 17 assists but the Bulldogs nearly doubled up their opponent in the kills column, 45-24. Bryant won the match with set victories of 25-15, 25-9 and 25-21.

Saturday's wins complete tournament play for the Bulldogs on the 2016 season. Bryant returns to the court Tuesday for a 7 p.m. matchup against intrastate rival Providence in the capital city.