Posted: Sep 22, 2009

BULLDOGS STRUGGLE AT HOME, FALL TO HARTFORD, 3-0, DESPITE CLOSE SETS

September 22, 2009

BULLDOGS STRUGGLE AT HOME, FALL TO HARTFORD, 3-0, DESPITE CLOSE SETS

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Led by 12 kills from reigning Northeast Conference Player of the Week Maria Scocca (Melrose, Mass.), the Bryant University volleyball team dropped a pair of close sets en route to a 3-0 loss to the University of Hartford Tuesday night at the Chace Athletic Center.

Scocca's 12 kills were a high on the night for either side, while junior libero Robyn Gardner (Longwood, Fla.) recorded a match-best 11 digs to compliment a pair of kills and two service aces.

But it was the Hawks (6-7) who would jump out to an early 1-0 lead, taking the opening set in 25-16 fashion behind four kills each from Kami Nethersole, Erin Macro and Maddison Molyneux. Macro and Nethersole would lead the Hartford offense on the evening with 10 kills apiece.

Set Two saw four lead changes and seven ties as the Bulldogs (3-10) came from behind a number of times before the Hawks took a four-point advantage at 24-20. Bryant try for one more late comeback, closing the gap to just a single point, 24-23, thanks to a Hartford attack error followed by a Macy Mitravich (Waimanalo, Hawaii) service ace and a Jazmin Stoner (Durango, Colo.) kill. But when rookie Mitravich served to knot the game at 24-24, her ball fell outside the lines, handing the visitors a 25-23 victory and a two-set edge in the match.

In the third, it was Bryant who came out to a quick 3-1 edge before a Lindsay Ford ace tied the score at 4-4. From there, the teams would virtually go point-for-point, with neither side taking more than a two-point lead until Ford again got the serve and earned her side a 15-12 advantage.

Bryant knotted the game at 16-16 with an Adrienne Boss (Dracut, Mass.) kill - she would record five of her seven kills on the day in the third set - and the point-for-point play would continue.

At 21-21, the Hawks rattled off three-straight points on Macro serves until back-to-back Mitravich kills forced a Hartford timeout at 24-23.

But out of the timeout, it wouldn't take long for the Hawks to close out the contest, getting a quick kill from Ford off the dig for a 25-23 win and three-set match victory.

Ford would lead the game with 30 helpers on the day while Bryant's setting pair of seniors Julie Geonnotti (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Adriana Fuertes (Miramar, Puerto Rico) collected 20 and 13 assists, respectively. Mitravich backed up Scocca's .526 hitting percentage with a nine-kill performance of her own, hitting at a .429 clip with eight digs. The Bulldogs as a team registered six total blocks to Hartford's two and recorded one more kill than Hartford, 44-43, despite the loss.

The Bulldogs fall to 0-3 at home on the 2009 season with the loss, but will have three more chances at the Chace Athletic Center before hitting the road again. Bryant will next hit the court when the Bulldogs host the Bryant Invitational this weekend, Sept. 26-27. Bryant will play Howard (1 p.m.) and Brown (4 p.m.) at home on Saturday, before closing the tournament with a Sunday match against Coppin State (1 p.m.).