Blue Devils top Bulldogs, 3-1, in NEC opener

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Sophomore Kendall Gaffney (Colorado Springs, Colo.) collected a season-high 12 kills and senior Maria Scocca (Melrose, Mass.) recorded 13 to pace the Bryant University volleyball team, but Emily Cochran's 21 kills led four Blue Devils in double-digits as Central Connecticut topped the Bulldogs, 3-1, in the 2011 Northeast Conference opener Saturday afternoon.

Scocca's .478 attack percentage led the Bulldogs (5-10, 0-1 NEC) while classmate Jazmin Stoner (Durango, Colo.) added a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs of her own as Bryant evened the score at 1-1 with a 25-21 set-two victory after host CCSU (9-5, 1-0) took the opener, 25-17. The Blue Devils owned the remainder of the night, though, taking 26-24 and 25-22 margins for a 3-1 match win in New Britain, Conn.

Rookie Elena Lohr (Loveland, Ohio) got the start at libero for the Black and Gold and picked up a contest-high 16 digs. Junior Emily Kaup (Chandler, Ariz.) tied the match mark in blocks with six (1 solo), and the Bulldogs out-stuffed the home team, 20-16, on the afternoon. Scocca chipped in five blocks as well on a strong day at the net, while Alexandria Clyburn (Cartersville, Ga.) added a trio of net stops to compliment eight kills and a .400 hitting percentage.

Danielle Gasser paced CCSU and the match with 50 assists on the day, while her Bryant counterparts, junior Jadith Lorenzo (Lawrence, Mass.) and sophomore Leigh Fishback (Edmonds, Wash.), dished out 27 and 18 helpers, respectively.

The Bulldogs look to pull even in conference action Sunday afternoon, when they take on Sacred Heart in Fairfield, Conn., at 1 p.m.