Kingi leads Bryant attack in sweep of Saint Francis U

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior Kristin Kingi (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) hit .588 on an errorless 10 kills as the Bryant University volleyball team opened Northeast Conference play with a sweep of Saint Francis U Friday night.

Kingi tallied 10 kills on 17 attacks with no errors for her ninth double-digit kill performance of the season. Redshirt-senior Julia Flynn (Pembroke, Mass.) added a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs.

Match Information
Bryant 3, Saint Francis U 0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-22)
Records: Bryant (10-7, 1-0); Saint Francis U (1-13, 0-1)
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.) 

Coach Garlacy's Comments
"This was a great way to start conference play, in front of an energized crowd with so many of our alumni in the stands. Kristin Kingi had a big match for us, hitting over .500 with 10 kills and no errors. Haley O'Brien had one of her best performances as a Bulldog. Our captains both gave us double-doubles with Julia Flynn in kills and digs and Kirstyn Sperry in assists and digs. It was a great team win to start NEC play 1-0."

How it Happened

• Set 1 – The set was tied at 12 before an 11-2 Bryant run gave the Bulldogs a 23-14 advantage. The Red Flash would tally the next three before kills from Flynn and freshman Haley O'Brien (Milton, Mass.) won the set 25-18 for the Bulldogs.
• Set 2 – Freshman Caroline Kennedy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) recorded kills for four of Bryant's first nine points in the set and the Bulldogs cruised to a 25-15 second-set win. The Bulldogs hit .414 with just one attack error in the frame.
• Set 3 – After a fast start for the Bulldogs, a 5-0 Saint Francis run tied the set at 9-9, prompting a Bryant timeout. With the teams tied at 10, Bryant would run off the next four behind two kills and a block from O'Brien. The Red Flash would pull within one at 23-22, but the Bulldogs took the next two points on a Flynn kill and SFU attack error to sweep the match.

Stats/Notes                                                         

• Kingi recorded 10 kills on a .588 hitting percentage (10-0-17) with nine digs.
• Flynn posted 11 kills, 11 digs and two blocks, moving to 943 kills for her collegiate career.
• O'Brien hit .467 with nine kills (9-2-15).
• Senior Kirstyn Sperry (Phoenix, Ariz.) tallied 15 assists and 15 digs, while senior Julia Malet (San Rafael, Calif.) collected 18 assists.
• Sophomore Erika Ward (Rochester, Mich.) notched 13 digs.
• Bryant hit .297 in the match, while Saint Francis hit .152.
• Bryant improves to 9-11 all-time against Saint Francis.
• The Bulldogs improve to 41-5 (.891) at the Chace Athletic Center since the start of the 2015 season.

Up Next
Bryant hosts Robert Morris Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Chace Athletic Center to wrap up the first weekend of conference play. Fans who bring their Bryant Football ticket from Saturday's 1 p.m. game against Robert Morris will receive admission to the volleyball match against the Colonials.

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