Garlacy announces 2019 Bryant schedule

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Bryant University head volleyball coach Theresa Garlacy has announced the Bulldogs' 2019 schedule, a 32-match slate that includes a highly competitive opening-weekend tournament and a new look to Northeast Conference play.

Bryant will play 16 non-conference and 16 conference matches as the Bulldogs look to defend their first NEC title. The Black & Gold will play all 16 of its non-league contests in 2019 prior to the start of the NEC schedule. The Bulldogs will host 14 of their matches at the Chace Athletic Center.

"The 2019 schedule looks to be very challenging for our young team," said Garlacy. "We know that you only get better by playing the best and that is what we intended with this year's tournament schedule. We are also excited to keep up our local rivalries with our midweek non-conference home and away matches with Brown, New Hampshire, Providence and Hartford. The Hampton Inn-vitational will also be sporting the strongest field in many years with Marist, North Dakota and Villanova in town."

The Bulldogs open the 2019 season in Florida for a tournament hosted by FGCU, which advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago. Bryant will begin the year against San Diego State (Aug. 30) before facing the host Eagles and Akron the following day (Aug. 31).

The annual meeting with New Hampshire (Sept. 3) will kick off the month of September before the Bulldogs open the home portion of their schedule with the Hampton Inn-vitational, hosting North Dakota on the opening day (Sept. 6) and Villanova and Marist the following day (Sept. 7). An in-state battle with Providence (Sept. 10) will round out the four-match homestand as the Bulldogs look for their third straight win over the Friars.

Bryant's third non-conference tournament brings the Bulldogs to West Point for the Army West Point tournament, facing Kent State (Sept. 13), Binghamton and Army West Point (Sept. 14).

The Bulldogs will play their final five non-conference matches in the Ocean State, beginning with a midweek contest against Brown (Sept. 17). Bryant plays its fourth and final tournament weekend at Keaney Gym for its first trip to Rhode Island in the Division I era (Sept. 20-21). The Bulldogs will play Albany Friday before clashing with Boston College and Rhode Island Saturday. Bryant closes non-conference play Sept. 24 with a home match against Hartford.

There will be 16 NEC matches in 2019 with the addition of former NE-10 foe Merrimack to the conference. Bryant will play its first three NEC contests on the road with trips to Fairleigh Dickinson (Sept. 27), St. Francis Brooklyn (Sept. 28) and Merrimack (Oct. 1).

A stretch of seven of the next eight matches at the Chace Athletic Center will follow, beginning with a weekend against Robert Morris (Oct. 4) and Saint Francis U (Oct. 5). Merrimack (Oct. 11) and Sacred Heart (Oct. 12) visit the following weekend before a Tuesday night home match against Central Connecticut (Oct. 15).

Bryant will visit LIU (Oct. 19) before returning home to host Fairleigh Dickinson (Oct. 25) and St. Francis Brooklyn (Oct. 26).

The Bulldogs will play four of their five regular-season November matches on the road, starting with the trip out to Pennsylvania to face Robert Morris (Nov. 1) and Saint Francis U (Nov. 2). Bryant hosts LIU for Senior Night (Nov. 8) before closing the regular season at Central Connecticut (Nov. 15) and Sacred Heart (Nov. 16).

The Northeast Conference Tournament will be played Nov. 22-23 at the site of the No. 1 seed. Eight of the nine NEC teams are eligible for the four-team tournament, excluding Merrimack, which is reclassifying from Division II to Division I. Bryant won the NEC Championship last November in Brooklyn with a sweep of Sacred Heart to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the program's Division I era.

The Bulldogs return a pair of all-conference selections in junior Erika Ward (Rochester, Mich.) and sophomore Caroline Kennedy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), who help lead a group that includes seven players who appeared in at least 50 sets a year ago.

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