Scocca puts up 10 blocks, VB falls to SHU

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior Maria Scocca (Melrose, Mass.) put up a match-high 10 blocks (2 solo) to compliment seven kills while senior co-captain Jazmin Stoner (Durango, Colo.) led the Bulldogs with 13 kills, but the Bryant University volleyball team came out on the short side of a back-and-forth affair on the road against Sacred Heart in a 3-2 defeat Sunday afternoon.

Junior Jadith Lorenzo (Lawrence, Mass.) added a contest best of her own with 36 assists and collected the Bulldogs' only double-double of the day by adding a team-best 12 digs to the performance. Rookie libero Elena Lohr (Loveland, Ohio) matched Lorenzo in digs as the Bulldogs (5-11, 0-2 Northeast Conference) rebounded from a 25-13 loss in the first game with a 25-22 win in the next frame. Sacred Heart (11-4, 2-0) came back to take the middle stanza, 25-21, but Bryant re-knotted the score at 2-2 with another 25-22 win with the match on the line. But in the fifth set, the Pioneers captured the victory, topping the Black and Gold, 15-8, for the 3-2 match win.

Kimmee Roleder paced four Sacred Heart players in double figures on the day with a match-best 25 kills and a .511 attack percentage, but the Pioneers were outblocked by Bryant, 29-20. Alisa Mesa paced the home team with 34 assists, while Jessica Colberg picked up a match-high 24 digs. Roleder added four service aces to her strong day, as Dianis Mercado (13 kills, 13 digs), Elise Sage (10 kills, five blocks) and Johanna Ovsenik (10 kills) were also tough to stop for the visiting Bulldogs.

Bryant will return home for its next go at Northeast Conference action as the Bulldogs host Quinnipiac for a midweek bout on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m.