Bryant leads NEC with four all-conference selections

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Four members of the Bryant University volleyball team earned all-conference honors for their performance during the 2018 regular season, as announced Thursday at the NEC's postseason banquet on the campus of LIU Brooklyn.

Redshirt-senior Julia Flynn (Pembroke, Mass.) collected first-team All-NEC honors, while senior Kristin Kingi (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), sophomore Erika Ward (Rochester, Mich.) and freshman Caroline Kennedy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) were selected as second-team all-conference honorees. The four all-conference honorees led the NEC and are the Bulldogs' highest total since Bryant joined the conference.

Flynn leads the Bulldogs with 3.21 kills per set in 2018, an average good for fifth in the NEC. The Massachusetts native has also been key to Bryant's defensive efforts, recording 2.78 digs per set. Flynn surpassed the 1,000-kill mark for her career in October, becoming the third Bulldog to reach the plateau in the Division I era.

Kingi ranks ninth in the NEC with 2.64 kills per set and seventh in digs at 3.56 per set. The California native has six performances of 20 or more digs in her senior year and posted seven double-doubles in NEC play. Kingi enters the weekend 28 digs shy of Bryant's Division I career digs record of 1,359.

Ward stands fifth in the NEC with 4.19 digs per set and first with 494 total digs. The Michigan native has seven matches of 20 or more digs, while her 971 career digs entering the weekend are the most ever by a Bulldog in her sophomore season.

Kennedy's freshman year performance places her sixth in the NEC at 3.02 kills per set. The California native has recorded 10 or more kills in 23 of 32 matches this season and seven of her last eight entering the NEC tournament.

Bryant begins NEC tournament play Friday at 6 p.m. when the Bulldogs face Central Connecticut in the second semifinal at LIU Brooklyn. With a win Friday, Bryant would advance to play LIU Brooklyn or Sacred Heart Saturday at 3 p.m. with the Northeast Conference title on the line.

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