Bulldogs split final day of Titan Tournament

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's volleyball team split its final two matches in the Titan Tournament, taking down UC Riverside in straight sets before falling to Cal State Fullerton in straight sets.

GAME INFORMATION

Bryant 3, UC Riverside 0 (25-23, 28-26, 25-21)

Bryant 0, Cal State Fullerton 3 (20-25, 24-26, 25-16)

Records: Bryant (1-2), UC Riverside (1-1), Cal State Fullerton (2-1)

Location: Titan Gym (Fullerton, Calif.)

COACH GARLACY'S COMMENTS

"[The first match] was one of our best blocking games. It was a total team effort with four people in double digit digs. [Julia] Flynn was on point today, hitting hard and really stepped up in her leadership role. Our blocks improved a lot over the weekend. In our second game, we had three freshman and three sophomores in at times. It was a great learning experience for us."

HOW IT HAPPENED VS. RIVERSIDE

• Set 1 – The Bulldogs trailed 16-12 in the middle of the set, but were able to rally with 13 of the final 22 points to take the set. Bryant was able to take advantage of 10 errors from UC Riverside to come from behind.
• Set 2 – In a set that Bryant just committed two errors, Riverside was just as impressive committing only five. The Bulldogs faced a set point but, after a service error knotted the set at 25, took four of the last five points to take the 2-0 match lead.
• Set 3 – The efficiency from the first two sets wasn't able to carry over, but the runs were as the Bulldogs took four of the first five points and nine of the final eleven points to take the match.

HOW IT HAPPENED VS. FULLERTON

• Set 1 – Fullerton grabbed the first six points of the set and did not look back, taking advantage of eight Bulldogs errors to just three for CSF..
• Set 2 – Cal State Fullerton committed nine errors in the second set, but Bryant committed eight and the Titans were able to avoid losing a set point to win 26-24.
• Set 3 – After splitting the first 20 points of the set 10-aside, Fullerton won 15 of the final 21 points to pull away from Bryant.  

STATS VS. RIVERSIDE

• Bryant hit .280 in the second set, recording 16 kills and just two errors.
• Three Bulldogs recorded double-doubles: Junior Kristin Kingi (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) had 11 kills and 11 digs, junior Kirstyn Sperry (Phoenix, Ariz.) tallied 17 assists and 12 digs while junior Julia Flynn (Pembroke, Mass.) totaled 12 kills and 11 digs.
• Freshman Erika Ward (Rochester, Mich.) recorded 20 digs in the match, one-upping her performance vs. Drake Friday night.
• Kill numbers were even in the match, with Riverside recording 43 and the Bulldogs combining for 41.

STATS VS. FULLERTON

• The Titans finished with 15 errors, while Bryant committed 20.
• Fullerton only committed 6 errors combined in sets one and three, whereas Bryant only committed four in the third set.
• Senior Cassandra Sulmeisters (Centennial, Colo.) finished off eight kills in the match.
• Sperry recorded her second double-double in as many matches, finishing with 13 assists and 13 digs.
• Ward continues to raise her early career-high in digs, finishing with 21 in the final of the Titan Tournament.

UP NEXT

The Bulldogs open up play from the Chace Athletic Center against Quinnipiac Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.