Bulldog volleyball battles for NEC Tournament hosting rights in final regular-season swing

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Arguably the biggest weekend set in the program's Division I history is on tap for the Bryant University volleyball team, who will look to go 2-0 in the final pair of Northeast Conference regular-season matchups in hopes of securing hosting rights for the 2015 NEC Tournament.

And while the Bulldogs (19-11, 10-2 NEC) do not fully control their own destiny when it comes to seeding, they have the opportunity to have some major influence with a pair of positive results.

With the tournament field already decided – Bryant, LIU Brooklyn, Robert Morris and Sacred Heart have secured the top four seeds – location and seeding is likely to go right down to the wire Sunday afternoon, with all four squads still in contention for the regular-season crown.

Currently tied for first, the Bulldogs and the Blackbirds each face off against another tournament qualifier Saturday, with Bryant traveling to Moon Township, Pa., for a 3 p.m. matchup against the Colonials. LIU Brooklyn will host the Pioneers at 1 p.m.

Should both first-place teams win out on the weekend, tournament seeding could come down to a tiebreaker based on set differential in the pair's head-to-head matchups (1-1), with the edge going to the Blackbirds. But both Robert Morris and Sacred Heart have more than one opportunity to play spoiler this weekend.

Armed with that knowledge, the Bulldogs will head to western Pennsylvania ready for a battle in their final regular-season swing. Bryant topped Robert Morris (15-12, 9-3) at home in the first meeting between the sides, 3-1, on the back of 16 kills from rookie outside Kristin Kingi (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and 35 digs from senior libero Debora Magalhaes (Belo Horizonte, Brazil). Kingi and sophomore setter Vika Nesterov (Kfar Saba, Israel) each picked up a double-double in the outing, while senior middle Taylor Onoyan (Crystal Lake, Ill.) paced the contest at the net with six blocks.

But the Colonials will be more than ready to return the favor in front of their home crowd, entering the final weekend on a three-match winning streak. Robert Morris is 5-4 at home this season, having won three of its last five at the Sewall Center.

Arden Fisher leads the way for the Colonials on the year, posting 318 kills in 27 matches (3.18 kills per set), while four more of her teammates boast 140 kills or more in 2015. As a unit, RMU ranks second in the league in hitting percentage (.202) and third in blocks per set (2.18).

The Bulldogs will counter with the league's top opponent hitting percentage, limiting foes to just a .178 clip. Bryant is right behind its Saturday challenger in team attack percentage (.198), also ranking second in assists (11.97 per set) and kills (12.90 per set).

The Black and Gold will then need to finish out the weekend on the road at Saint Francis U. (4-23, 2-10) Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Red Flash will also look to avenge a 3-1 loss to the Black and Gold in Smithfield in a match that saw Nesterov dish out a career-high 62 assists (14 digs) to four teammates who put down double-digit kills (Kingi, 15; Onoyan, 10; Julia Flynn, 19; Sophie Hoekstra, 17). Breanna Opera led Saint Francis with 11 kills in the contest.

Both weekend matchups can be seen live and free-of-charge at NECFrontRow.com.

The four-team NEC Tournament is set for November 21-22 at the high seed. The winner will earn the league's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament.