Bulldogs downed by Dartmouth Tuesday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University volleyball team was defeated in three sets Tuesday night by Dartmouth, snapping the Bulldogs' five-match winning streak.

Freshmen Jenna Knight (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Maya Popernik (Chicago, Ill.) made their first career starts in the final non-conference match of the regular season, while sophomore Alisi Motu'apuaka (Virginia Beach, Va.) chipped in with a season-high 20 assists and two aces.

Match Information
Dartmouth 3, Bryant 0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-23)
Records: Bryant (18-10); Dartmouth (9-12)
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.) 

Coach Garlacy's Comments
"We made too many unforced errors tonight, which made it hard to win. Alisi Motu'apuaka served well and made some great choices offensively. Kristin Kingi led us in digs and was super consistent in receive. Brianna Bruny was a spark offensively and chipped in two blocks. We didn't really get comfortable until the third set.

How it Happened

• Set 1 – A kill from sophomore Mackenzie Wild (Rochester, Mich.) and an ace from Popernik cut the deficit to 16-15 before the Big Green ran off four straight points – assisted by three Bryant errors – to take a five-point lead. Dartmouth would close out a 25-19 victory in the first set.
• Set 2 – Bryant trailed 9-8 before an 11-1 Dartmouth run aided by three blocks opened up a 20-9 advantage for the Big Green. At 23-12, Bryant would tally three straight points that included an ace and a kill from Motu'apuaka, but Dartmouth went up 2-0 with a 25-16 second set.
• Set 3 – The set was tied at 15 before seven straight Dartmouth points gave the Big Green a 22-15 lead. With Dartmouth up 23-16, Bryant tallied six straight points to pull within one, but the Bulldogs could not even the set and Dartmouth completed the three-set victory with a 25-23 third.

Stats/Notes

• Freshman Caroline Kennedy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) collected 10 kills, good for her 20^th double-digit performance of the year.
• Motu'apuaka totaled a season-high 20 assists, while Knight added a career-best 14.
• Freshman Haley O'Brien (Milton, Mass.) recorded eight kills and no errors on 15 attacks, good for a .533 hitting percentage.
• Senior Kristin Kingi (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) posted 14 digs, while sophomore Erika Ward (Rochester, Mich.) added 12.
• Bryant recorded 37 kills to Dartmouth's 35, but Bryant was plagued by 20 attack errors as opposed to Dartmouth's nine.
• Both teams had 46 digs in the match.
• Bryant falls to 3-4 all-time against Dartmouth.
• The Bulldogs drop to 0-2 this year against the Ivy League with defeats to Brown and Dartmouth.

Up Next
Bryant returns to NEC play Friday with a 6 p.m. match in Fairfield, Connecticut, against Sacred Heart. The Bulldogs enter the weekend one match behind first-place LIU Brooklyn in the loss column; Bryant has four matches remaining, while LIU has three, including a head-to-head matchup Nov. 9.

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