Kingi, Hoekstra lead Bryant despite 3-1 loss to UMBC

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Rookies Kristin Kingi (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and Sophie Hoekstra (Millersville, Md.) combined for 23 kills for the Bryant University volleyball team, but the Bulldogs fell to UMBC, 3-1, Saturday at the UConn Dog Pound Challenge.

Kingi led the way for the Bulldogs (4-3), posting 13 kills with five digs and one of the team's seven aces on the day. Hoekstra also posted double-digit kills with 10, adding four blocks.

Senior Taylor Onoyan (Crystal Lake, Ill.) led both sides with an impressive seven blocks, including two solo stuffs, while adding five kills for the Black and Gold. Sophomore Ally Lunsford (Minneola, Fla.) added seven kills, while setter Vika Nesterov (Kfar Saba, Israel) paced the match with 25 assists (7 digs). Senior Debora Magalhaes (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) posted a match-leading 28 digs.

The Retrievers (3-3) were led by 13 kills by Krystal Williams and 10 more from Maddie Schneider. Paige Miller dished out 23 assists, while Carola De Jesus grabbed 21 digs. Marissa Duncan (5 kills) paced UMBC on the block with six.

UMBC won the opening set, 25-22, before the Bulldogs came back to tie the match with a 25-21 set-two victory. But the Retrievers would take the next two frames, 25-21 and 25-18 for the 3-1 match win.

The Bulldogs hit .138 as a team to UMBC's .161. Both teams served up seven aces, paced by three from Schneider and two from Nesterov and rookie setter Kirstyn Sperry (Phoenix, Ariz.) (16 assists).

The Bulldogs interrupt tournament play for their next contest, taking on the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H., Tuesday night (7 p.m.).