BURGESS’S CAREER-HIGH 11 KILLS LEAD BULLDOGS PAST RED FLASH, 3-1, SATURDAY AT HOME

October 30, 2010

BURGESS'S CAREER-HIGH 11 KILLS LEAD BULLDOGS PAST RED FLASH, 3-1, SATURDAY AT HOME

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – A pair of rookies paced the Bryant University volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Northeast Conference foe Saint Francis (PA), as freshman Mariah Burgess (Urbana, Ill.) posted a career-high 11 kills to lead the Bulldogs Saturday night at the Chace Athletic Center.

Burgess's team-best 11 kills came with just three errors in four sets, giving the rookie a .348 attack percentage to go along with a pair of blocks. Classmate Nicole Percz (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) tied her career best with 10 kills on the contest and boasted a .375 hitting percentage, also with two stuffs. The win marks the 16th for the Bulldogs (16-14, 3-8 NEC) this season, tying the program's single-season record in the Division I era.

The Bulldogs took a 2-0 match lead quickly with 25-18 and 25-20 wins out of the gates, but couldn't put down a determined Saint Francis (6-18, 4-7) side in the third set. With the a 10-8 deficit, the Red Flash went on a run that featured four blocks and an ace over a stretch that saw the visitors score 10 points in just 11 rallies, allowing the home side just a single point en route to an 18-11 lead. The Bulldogs wouldn't be able to make up the difference, dropping the set, 25-21, despite closing the gap to just three at 23-20.

But in the fourth, Bryant jumped out to a 5-0 lead from which the Red Flash would never fully recover, despite coming back with five-straight points to tie the set late at 20-20. The Bulldogs would outscore their opponents, 5-2, over the final points for the 3-1 match victory.

Sophomore Jadith Lorenzo (Lawrence, Mass.) put up a match-best 38 assists in the outing, while senior Robyn Gardner (Longwood, Fla.) posted a team-leading 15 digs. Every Bulldog recorded at least one dig, spreading the defensive responsibilities across the lineup. Saint Francis's Christine Breisch paced the match with 16 digs.

On the block, junior Maria Scocca (Melrose, Mass.) boasted a match-high two solo blocks and recorded four total stuffs on the night, but it was the Red Flash's Elizabeth Williams who led the way with six block assists, five of them coming in the third set alone. As a team, the Bulldogs were out-blocked, 13-11, with only three Saint Francis blocks coming outside the third frame.

Bryant served up seven aces in the win to Saint Francis's six and was led by two apiece from Percz and Gardner. The Red Flash were hindered by 15 service errors in the affair. Lindsay Malloy paced the visitors and the match on the attack, boasting a contest-high 17 kills.

The Bulldogs return to the court Sunday afternoon, when they wrap up October play with a 1 p.m. bout against Robert Morris at home.