Bryant Proving themselves in the Top Division

Kingston, RI- Bulldogs traveled to southern Rhode Island to play 4 regular season matches against Columbia University, University of Connecticut, University of Rhode Island, and Fairfield University.

The day started with an automatic win, with Columbia being forced to forfeit due to the lack of players available. This gave the Bulldogs extra rest for their next match against highly ranked UConn. The Huskies came out strong with the Bulldogs looking lackluster to start the match. The poor start didn’t keep the Bulldogs down for long with Junior opposite hitter Connor Ericson leading the team with 13 kills, and classmate middle blocker Jon Cloutier showing why he might be one of the best middles in New England with a commanding 8 blocks. This resulted in a Bryant win, (20-25, 25-22, 15-11).

After the upset victory over UConn, the Bulldogs faced Fairfield University in another 3 set thriller, that displayed why the Bulldogs belong in the top division of the NECVL. After a poor first set performance the Bulldogs came back and won, (21-25, 25-15, 15-8).

The last match of the day featured the Bulldogs vs. the host team URI Rams. The Rams lost a match earlier in the day against UConn, which gave the Bulldogs confidence coming into the match. The highly ranked URI Rams came out firing on all cylinders taking the first set, but the momentum shifted drastically as the theme of the day was 3 set matches with the Bulldogs biting back to take the 2nd. Unfortunately Bryant didn’t have enough left in the tank to pull out the upset dropping the match, (22-25, 25-23, 12-15).

Senior Captain Randy Tow:”This is the first time in my 4 years at Bryant where we are able to play against such high level teams, and that’s because we are at a high level. I was extremely pleased and excited by the team's performance today taking down a NECVL powerhouse in UConn and showing the fight to play in three 3 set matches today! We are moving up in the ranks, and moving fast!”