Sperry named Northeast Conference Setter of the Year; joins Flynn on All-NEC first team

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Bryant University volleyball junior Kirstyn Sperry (Phoenix, Ariz.) earned the program's third-consecutive Northeast Conference Setter of the Year honor and joined junior Julia Flynn (Pembroke, Mass.) on the All-NEC first team, announced Thursday at the conference's annual awards banquet held on the campus of LIU Brooklyn.

Sperry brings home the NEC Setter of the Year award for the third-straight year, as Vika (Nesterov) Katzen earned the honor in 2015 and 2016. The junior helped propel the Bulldog attack to a conference-best 13.41 kills per set in NEC play, while Bryant was second in the NEC with 12.52 assists per set in conference matches. Sperry has 19 double-doubles on the year, with 18 a combination of assists and digs and the other a 12-kill effort in a sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson.

Flynn elevated her game in NEC play, as the junior outside notched 3.57 kills per set in conference matches, good for fourth in the league. Flynn has tallied 10 or more kills in 21 of the 29 matches in which she has appeared in 2017 and has 13 double-doubles on the year. She also has two matches of 20 or more digs this season, including a career-high 23 Saturday at Saint Francis U.

Both Sperry and Flynn were second-team All-NEC honorees in 2016. This is the second time in three years Bryant has earned two first-team all-conference nods.

Bryant is back in action Friday at 6 p.m. when the Bulldogs face Central Connecticut in an NEC Championship semifinal at LIU Brooklyn.