Magalhaes posts career high, Bulldogs set program's DI win record in 3-1 victory over CCSU

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Stellar defensive efforts from seniors Debora Magalhaes (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) and Taylor Onoyan (Crystal Lake, Ill.) paced the Bryant University volleyball team to a 3-1 road win over Central Connecticut Friday night in New Britain, Conn.

The win saw the Bulldogs (19-11, 10-2 Northeast Conference) set a new Division I program record for victories in a season with two regular-season matches still to play.

Magalhaes's career-high 38 digs rivaled the team digs from the entire Blue Devil (11-13, 3-8) ranks (49), while Onoyan posted a match-best eight blocks to complement 10 kills on the evening. Offensively, the Black and Gold were paced by a pair of rookies in Sophie Hoekstra (Millersville, Md.) and Julia Flynn (Pembroke, Mass.), who finished the contest with 18 and 10 kills, respectively.

Onoyan also helped lead the way with a .350 attack percentage, while sophomore Kiley Robbins (Garland, Texas) picked up nine kills with four stuffs. Sophomore setter Vika Nesterov (Kfar Saba, Israel) dished out 50 assists with nine digs, six blocks and an ace.

Makenna Lommori led the Blue Devils with eight kills, adding 15 assists and seven digs, while Heather Trueman and Raquel Quirante added six apiece as well as five and three blocks, respectively. Nicole Dean led the hosts at the net with seven stuffs (4 kills), while Ashley Lenington finished the day with nine digs and 13 assists. Cassidy Stankowski posted 11 digs with a block and five kills in the outing to pace the host defense.

The Bulldogs saw five aces in the four-set win, including a pair from frosh Kirstyn Sperry (Phoenix, Ariz.). Bryant opened the match with 25-16 and 25-21 wins, posting a .286 team attack percentage in the second frame.

But after the 10-minute intermission, the Black and Gold stumbled, dropping the third stanza, 25-18, to a surging Central Connecticut side. Bryant came storming back in the fourth, however, taking a commanding 25-13 victory for the 3-1 match win.

As a team, the Bulldogs hit .178 and outkilled their hosts, 55-35, also outblocking CCSU, 15-11.

Bryant wraps up 2015 regular-season action with a western Pennsylvania road trip next Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 14-15). The Bulldogs will look to continue their current three-match winning streak against Robert Morris and Saint Francis U. as they vie for the NEC Tournament's top spot.