Hoekstra, Onoyan set career marks as Bulldogs topple reigning NEC Champ LIU Brooklyn, 3-1, Sunday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Behind a career-best 17 kills from freshman Sophie Hoekstra (Millersville, Md.) and a career-high 12 blocks from senior Taylor Onoyan (Crystal Lake, Ill.), the Bryant University volleyball team topped three-time reigning Northeast Conference Champion LIU Brooklyn, 3-1, Sunday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.

The win marked just the second time in series history that the Bulldogs (10-8, 2-0 NEC) have defeated the Blackbirds (2-11, 1-1).

Hoekstra's 17 kills (5 blocks) were a match best, while classmate Kristin Kingi (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) added 12 more with 18 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Both setters, sophomore Vika Nesterov (Kfar Saba, Israel) and freshman Kirstyn Sperry (Phoenix, Ariz.), also chipped in double-doubles, with the former posting 29 assists and 10 digs (6 kills) and the latter adding 16 helpers with 11 digs.

Onoyan added six kills to her career day at the net, while sophomore Kiley Robbins (Garland, Texas) was solid off the bench with nine kills, a .353 attack percentage and three stuffs. Senior Debora Magalhaes (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) led the contest defensively with 21 digs and two aces.

Tamara Ignjic and Mirjana Rajic paced the Blackbird offense with 11 kills apiece, while Adriana Vinas Joy posted 20 digs for the visitors. Nicole Hopton led the match with 32 helpers. Rajic registered the team's only double-double, adding 11 digs to her 11-kill afternoon.

The Bulldogs made up an early deficit in the first set to take a 20-15 advantage following a block by Ally Lunsford (Minneola, Fla.) and Robbins, forcing LIU Brooklyn to take its final timeout of the frame. Robbins would follow with a huge solo stuff to move the score to 22-15 favoring the Black and Gold. The Blackbirds would make up some of the difference, but it wouldn't be enough as a block from Kingi and Onoyan sealed the 25-20 win.

Bryant opened the second frame on a five-point run, and the home side would maintain that lead midway through the set, 15-9, thanks in large part to solid play at the net. The Bulldogs would continue to dominate behind five blocks from Onoyan and a .360 team attack percentage, taking a 2-0 match lead with a 25-15 victory in the second.

The third was a tight battle to open the frame, but LIU Brooklyn opened up a six-point, 17-11 advantage on the back of serving by Nicole Okeke. The Blackbirds wouldn't let the Bulldogs make up any ground as the frame progressed, taking a 25-16 win on an Okeke kill to close the set.

Another tightly contested start would see the Bulldogs open up a 14-11 edge in the fourth set, and big back-to-back kills by Robbins and Hoekstra would extend that lead to 19-13. The Bulldogs would continue that momentum and never look back in the final stanza, finishing off the 3-1 win with a 25-19 set victory.

As a unit, the Bulldogs outhit the Blackbirds, .167 to .095, and collected 14 more kills, 54-40. Bryant outblocked its opponent, 15-13, and won the digs margin, 75-51.

Bryant is back in action Tuesday and will look to extend its three-match winning streak, hitting the road to take on UMass Lowell at 7:00 p.m.