Bryant splits first day at Stony Brook

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Bryant University volleyball team bounced back from a five-set loss to Delaware, turning around 90 minutes later to play Stony Brook and erasing a 2-0 deficit to win in five sets, earning a split of the opening day of the Stony Brook Invite.

Match Information
Delaware 3, Bryant 2 (15-25, 25-23, 31-29, 21-25, 11-15)
Bryant 3, Stony Brook 2 (20-25, 17-25, 25-21, 25-19, 15-12)
Records: Bryant (9-5); Delaware (6-4); Stony Brook (4-8)
Location: Pritchard Gymnasium (Stony Brook, N.Y.) 

Coach Garlacy's Comments
"Our team showed great tenacity tonight coming back from a tough loss against Delaware. We had to bounce back with not a lot of time to rest or eat and be ready to play again, and we did have a slow start, but we had several people step up. Erika Ward defensively was huge. Kristin Kingi had some great shots on tough balls. Brianna Bruny in the middle did a great job of sealing off Stony Brook's very talented middle attacker. Julia Flynn had some crucial swings in the fifth set – she went for it and showed us the leader that she is.

How it Happened – Delaware

• Set 1 – Bryant was held to a negative hitting percentage as Delaware opened up an early double-digit lead and cruised to a 25-15 victory in the opening set.
• Set 2 – Senior Kristin Kingi (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) collected eight kills in the set and senior Grace Richmeyer (DeSoto, Mo.) added five as Bryant took a 25-23 second set to even the match.
• Set 3 – Bryant battled back multiple times to push the set beyond 25, as the teams traded points back and forth until Delaware took a 29-28 lead. The Blue Hens put the ensuing serve into the net and the Bulldogs followed with a kill from Kingi and a Delaware attack error to win the set.
• Set 4 – Delaware staved off defeat with a 25-21 victory in the fourth set. Bryant battled back to tie the set at 19 before Delaware won six of the final eight points.
• Set 5 – Bryant led 4-3 before Delaware followed with the next four points to take a 7-4 advantage. The Bulldogs cut a 12-7 deficit to 13-10, but it was the closest they would come in a 15-11 final set.

How it Happened – Stony Brook

• Set 1 – Kingi collected seven kills in the opening set, but the Seawolves hit .393 with four blocks on their way to a 25-20 first-set victory.
• Set 2 – Stony Brook picked up a 25-17 win in the second set to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Freshman Caroline Kennedy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) recorded five kills in the set.
• Set 3 – A 52-second rally ended in a kill from redshirt-senior Julia Flynn (Pembroke, Mass.) and put Bryant ahead 17-13. The Bulldogs would lead by at least two points the rest of the set as Bryant forced a fourth set with a 25-21 third.
• Set 4 – Bryant hit .306 in the fourth set to push the match the distance. Tied at 18, Bryant would take seven of the final eight points of the set, with junior Nikki Kim (River Edge, N.J.) recording a pair of aces during the run.
• Set 5 – Bryant jumped ahead 9-5 on a Flynn ace before Stony Brook cut the lead to 10-9. With Bryant leading 13-12, kills from Kennedy and Flynn closed out the victory.

Stats/Notes                                                         

• Kingi led the Bulldogs in the Delaware match with 18 kills while adding 13 digs.
• Flynn collected 13 kills against the Blue Hens, while Kennedy added 10.
• Kim tallied a team-high 16 digs against Delaware.
• Flynn recorded a team-high 17 kills in the win over Stony Brook.
• Kingi added a double-double of 14 kills and 14 digs in the Stony Brook match.
• Sophomore Erika Ward (Rochester, Mich.) posted a team-high 19 digs in the victory over the Seawolves.
• Kennedy recorded 12 kills against Stony Brook.
• Junior Brianna Bruny (Biscayne Park, Fla.) hit .667 (8-0-12) in the win over Stony Brook.
• Senior Kirstyn Sperry (Phoenix, Ariz.) recorded 23 assists against Delaware and 39 vs. Stony Brook.
• Bryant falls to 0-1 against Delaware and improves to 3-7 against Stony Brook, having defeated the Seawolves in each of the last two seasons.

Up Next
Bryant is back in action Saturday at 4 p.m. when the Bulldogs face Colgate to close out the Stony Brook Invite.

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