Bryant defeats Sacred Heart, 3-2, on Senior Day for tie atop NEC standings

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Just one day after clinching its first-ever Division I postseason berth, the Bryant University volleyball team evened the score with league-leading Sacred Heart, defeating the Pioneers in five sets to enter a tie atop the Northeast Conference standings Sunday on Senior Day.

The win in the regular-season home finale gave the Bulldogs (18-11, 9-2 NEC) a perfect 14-0 mark at the Chace Athletic Center for the first time in Division I history and handed the Pioneers (14-10, 8-2) just their second league loss of 2015.

Rookie rightside Sophie Hoekstra (Millersville, Md.) posted 17 kills and a .405 attack percentage in the victory, while sophomore outside hitter Kiley Robbins (Garland, Texas) continued her big week, putting up 11 kills with five blocks.

Sophomore middle blocker Ally Lunsford (Minneola, Fla.) was stellar at the net, posting a match-leading eight blocks (1 solo) to complement seven kills, while sophomore setter Vika Nesterov (Kfar Saba, Israel) registered her second double-double of the weekend with a match-best 45 assists and 18 digs. Senior middle blocker Taylor Onoyan (Crystal Lake, Ill.) added seven kills and six blocks, while classmate and fellow captain Debora Magalhaes (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) paced the outing defensively with 28 digs.

Junior rightside Sarah Krufka was more than impressive for Sacred Heart, recording a whopping 29 kills while adding in six blocks despite the loss. Tori Kemper (12 kills) and Allison Riggs (11) were also stellar for the visitors, with the former adding 10 digs to pick up a double-double on the afternoon. Riggs helped Krufka lead the way at the net with six blocks of her own. Four different Pioneers finished with double-figure digs, paced by 17 from Bruna Bon.

Despite falling behind early in the first set, 10-4, the Bulldogs fought back, scoring three-straight points to close the deficit to just one, 17-16. Bryant would keep Sacred Heart close, tying the frame at 20-20 before falling behind once more. But four-straight points would hand the hosts a two-point edge, 24-22. Bryant would not capitalize on its first set-point attempt, but after an attack error reknotted the stanza at 24-24, an Onoyan kill and Riggs attack error handed the Black and Gold a 1-0 match advantage.

The second saw another closely contested battle despite a 5-1 start for the Pioneers. The Bulldogs would quickly tie the set at 8-8 before taking their lead of the frame, upping that advantage to 15-10 and then 17-11 to force a Sacred Heart timeout. Three-consecutive kills from Krufka closed the gap to 18-15, but the Pioneers wouldn't get any closer in the 25-19 final that sent the Black and Gold up, 2-0.

Sacred Heart once again started off with the lead in the third, 10-6, before the Bulldogs came back to tie it at 12-12 on a Hoekstra kill. But Krufka proved nearly unstoppable in the stanza, posting eight kills with just a single error, driving the Pioneers back out in front. Katie Direnzo (9 kills) broke an 18-18 deadlock for the visitors, and while Bryant scored two points with SHU one point away from the win, the Pioneers would finish with a Krufka kill just in time for the 25-23 victory.

The Bulldogs went up with the early edge in the fourth, 6-2, but this time it would be the Pioneers who knotted the score at 8-8. Sacred Heart would go on a run from there, upping its lead all the way to 20-12 while forcing the Bulldogs to burn both timeouts. The teams would each score five of the next 10 points, not allowing the hosts to make up any of the margin as the Pioneers tied the match at 2-2 with a 25-17 victory.

Back-to-back stuffs from Lunsford and Robbins gave the hosts a 4-3 edge in the fifth frame, and Nesterov and Onoyan teamed up at the net to put the Black and Gold on top, 8-6, midway through the deciding session. The sides would trade scores, with neither team taking more than a two-point edge. A service error would give the Bulldogs a 13-12 advantage, and a Sacred Heart attack error handed Bryant the first shot at match point. It was a chance on which the Bulldogs would capitalize, as an attack error would even the season series with the Pioneers thanks to a 15-12 decision in the final frame and 3-2 match victory.

As a team, the Bulldogs hit .244 on the contest and got pick-me-ups from across their roster, including senior Victoria Bryan (Newton, Mass.) (1 ace) and junior Carissa Gould (Woonsocket, R.I.) (3 digs). Bryant outblocked Sacred Heart, 14-9, with five players boasting four stuffs or more through five frames.

The Bulldogs will look to stick to their winning ways in the all-important final two weeks of regular-season action. Bryant will take on Central Connecticut on the road Friday at 6:00 p.m. before wrapping up regular-season action in western Pennsylvania Nov. 14-15.