Bulldogs use depth to sweep St. Francis Brooklyn, 3-0, Saturday night

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Rookie Kirstyn Sperry (Phoenix, Ariz.) recorded a double-double while classmate Sophie Hoekstra (Millersville, Md.) registered a match-high 10 kills as the Bryant University volleyball team downed St. Francis Brooklyn, 3-0, in Saturday's Northeast Conference opener.

Sperry posted 15 assists with 13 digs while also serving up three aces in the Bulldog (9-8, 1-0 NEC) sweep, as Bryant used 11 aces to glide past the Terriers (1-14, 0-1) at home. Frosh Margot Ruffieux (Cary, N.C.) added eight kills with eight digs and an ace on the evening, while senior libero Debora Magalhaes (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) paced the defense with a contest-leading 22 digs and an impressive four aces. Sophomore setter Vika Nesterov (Kfar Saba, Israel) finished the day with a match-best 17 assists to compliment nine digs.

St. Francis Brooklyn was led by eight kills from Milica Mladjenovic (2 aces, 6 digs), while Domenique Gerard added five more with 11 digs. Alexa Caporuscio led the visitors defensively with 14 digs, while Kelly O'Halloran dished out 12 helpers.

The Bulldogs led throughout the opening set, kickstarted by a 6-0 lead served up by Nesterov. Bryant grew that advantage to 10 points midway through the frame and maintained that margin all the way to 19-9 before the Terriers staged the start to a comeback. St. Francis Brooklyn would close the gap to seven, but Bryant would eventually take the 25-17 win.

But in the second, the Terriers would blaze ahead, opening up a quick 10-4 lead. Successive points by senior Victoria Bryan (4 kills) and rookie Grace Richmeyer (2 kills, 2 blocks, ace) would close the gap, but a string of Bryant attack errors allowed the visitors to get back out in front, 19-11. Magalhaes would serve up three-straight aces to narrow the margin to 20-16, and after a Terrier error, the senior captain served another as the Black and Gold brought the game within two points, 20-18. A Bulldog block cut the deficit to one, 20-19, and Ruffieux would knot the set at 21-21. The margin stayed tight from there, but a Taylor Onoyan (4 kills, 3 blocks) kill would cap off the host's 26-24 victory. In total, the Bulldogs served up eight aces in a stanza that featured five ties.

The Bulldogs would continue to dominate in the third, doubling up the Terriers, 16-8. That trend would continue after a Hoekstra kill for a 21-10 Bryant lead. The hosts would hold on for the 25-13 victory to take the match, 3-0.

On the evening, Bryant outhit St. Francis, .147 to .051, and won the battle in kills (39-25), digs (69-55) and aces (11-3). The Terriers edged the Bulldogs in team blocks, 6-5.

The Bulldogs return to action Sunday, hosting reigning NEC Champion LIU Brooklyn at 3:00 p.m. at the Chace Athletic Center.