Bryant comeback falls short in fifth, Bulldogs drop 3-2 decision to RMU

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Despite battling out of an early 0-2 hole to force a deciding fifth set, the Bryant University volleyball team fell short in its comeback against Robert Morris at home, falling, 3-2, despite four double-doubles for the second-straight outing.

Rookie Natascha Scarff (Geneva, Switzerland) led the way for the Bulldogs (5-17, 1-2 Northeast Conference) with 17 kills and 17 digs, while senior Elena Lohr (Loveland, Ohio) chipped in 15 kills and 11 digs. Setters Vika Nesterov (Kfar Saba, Israel) and Jana Kmec (Stratford, Conn.) also added double-double performances with 38 assists and 17 digs, and 20 assists with 13 digs, respectively. All four also posted double-doubles Saturday in a 3-2 win over Saint Francis U.

Arden Fisher paced the Colonials (5-13, 4-0) and the match with 19 kills while adding 20 digs, while Brianna Frakes registered her own double-double with 27 assists and 11 digs. Fellow setter Hannah Hoffman contributed 18 assists and 13 digs in RMU's winning effort. April Krivoniak scored 11 kills for the visitors, while Leah Dunivan chipped in 10 more. The Colonials were led defensively by five blocks from Becky Jay (7 kills) and 30 digs from Melissa Bograd.

For the Black and Gold, sophomore Sara DePouw (Oconto, Wis.) also found success offensively, totaling 17 kills with seven digs and an ace. Junior libero Debora Magalhaes (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) served up a match-best three aces with 24 digs while rookie Alexandra Lunsford (Minneola, Fla.) added 11 kills and a side-best two blocks.

The first set was a closely contested affair that saw nine ties, including knots at 8-8, 13-13, and 21-21. But a DePouw kill to tie the score at 22-22 would be the final Bryant point of the frame, as a kill from RMU's Erica Robb and back-to-back Bulldog attack errors handed the Colonials the 25-22 victory.

Robert Morris led the whole way through the second, though, building a lead to 17-8 to close out the hosts' chances for a comeback in the 25-15 final that gave the visitors a 2-0 match advantage. But in the third, the Bulldogs came charging back, opening up a 10-5 lead they would never relinquish en route to a 25-18 set win to force a fourth set.

The Black and Gold would win the fourth frame, as well, coming all the way back from trailing, 17-11, to win in extras, 27-25. The Bulldogs battled to close the gap to 22-19 and got two kills from Scarff along with an RMU attack error to tie the set at 22-22. The Colonials would take the set to match point, 24-22, minutes later, but the home side didn't give up, getting a kill from junior Taylor Onoyan (Crystal Lake, Ill.) and an error from Erica Robb to force another tie at 24-24. RMU would win the next point for a second match-point opportunity, but the Bulldogs scored the next three straight – capped off by an ace from Scarff – to take the set and tie the match at 2-2.

But in the deciding frame, the Colonials were the first to reach the eight-point mark and took a 10-6 advantage on a Sydney Sizemore kill. Brianna Frakes would serve three-straight points to push the score to 14-7 and Bryant couldn't overcome the deficit, falling, 15-9, in the set and 3-2 in the match.

The Bulldogs will now hit the road to continue conference play, traveling to New York City to take on LIU Brooklyn Saturday, Oct. 11 (1 p.m.) and St. Francis Brooklyn on Sunday, Oct. 12 (1 p.m.).