Bryant's NEC slate begins in Hackensack and Brooklyn
HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Bryant University volleyball team opens its 16-match Northeast Conference schedule on the road this weekend with matches at Fairleigh Dickinson and St. Francis Brooklyn.
The Particulars
Opponent: Fairleigh Dickinson
Match Time: Friday – 6 p.m.
Location: Rothman Center (Hackensack, N.J.)
Watch: NEC Front Row
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
All-Time Series: Bryant leads, 17-8 (17-6 D1)
Opponent: St. Francis Brooklyn
Match Time: Saturday – 4 p.m.
Location: Genovesi Center (Brooklyn Heights, N.Y.)
Watch: NEC Front Row
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
All-Time Series: Bryant leads, 20-4
LAST TIME OUT: HARTFORD 3, BRYANT 0
Bryant dropped a three-set decision to Hartford Tuesday at the Chace Athletic Center. Sophomore Caroline Kennedy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) hit .615 with eight kills in the match against the Hawks to close out the non-conference portion of the schedule.
ABOUT THE KNIGHTS
Fairleigh Dickinson is searching for its first win of 2019 after an 0-13 start to the season. The Knights played two of the Bulldogs' non-conference opponents in the third weekend of the season, dropping three-set matches against Providence and Brown.
Mujay Mambu leads FDU with 2.46 kills per set, while Aleksandra Maksimovic has added 2.40. Jaelyn Young has recorded a team-high 3.46 digs per set.
ABOUT THE TERRIERS
St. Francis Brooklyn enters the first NEC weekend with a 5-8 record. The Terriers fell in a four-set match at Hartford Saturday in Connecticut.
Una Stevic leads the Terriers with 2.96 kills per set, while Ally Speweik has added 1.94 on a .335 hitting percentage and Wies Hurkmans has chipped in 1.65 while hitting .404. Kizzy Rodriguez has collected 4.02 digs per set on the year.
10+10=20
Freshman Riley James (Pocasset, Mass.) had a breakout weekend for the Black & Gold at the Art Carmichael Invitational, capped off by an 18-kill, 21-dig performance against Rhode Island. James was named to the event's All-Tournament Team for her efforts.
James has recorded four double-doubles in her last nine matches after a career-best 18-kill, 21-dig performance in the Saturday match against Rhode Island. The freshman has added double-doubles against Providence, Kent State and Brown this month.
RACING TO 500
Kennedy reached the 500-kill plateau for her career in last Friday's match against Boston College. Kennedy collected her 500th kill in her 48th career match.
LET'S GET IT STARTED
Bryant started five freshmen – Maggie Ryan (Bethesda, Md.), Emma McGovern (Long Beach, N.Y.), Abby Rae (Walpole, Mass.), Alysa Wright (Wayne, Pa.) and James – in each of the Bulldogs' last two matches, while Mia Cergol (East Northport, N.Y.) joined the quintet in the first set in both contests.
SETTING THE STAGE FOR SUCCESS
Junior Alisi Motu'apuaka (Virginia Beach, Va.) tallied a career-high 25 assists in Saturday's match at Rhode Island. Motu'apuaka was named to the all-tournament team in two of Bryant's four non-conference weekend invitationals.
UNDERCLASSMEN LEADING THE ATTACK
Bryant has seen 92.1% of its kills come from its sophomores and freshmen in 2019. The Bryant sophomores, led by Kennedy (2.33 per set) have contributed 49.8%, while the freshmen, with James pacing the group (2.42 per set) have collected 42.3%.
STRONG (ISLAND) START
Bryant's freshman duo from Long Island has made an immediate impact, as McGovern ranks third on the Bulldogs in kills per set and fourth in digs per set, while Cergol has been responsible for 37.4% of Bryant's assists on the year.
McGovern was named Molten/NEC Rookie of the Week for her efforts in each of the first two weeks of 2019, becoming the third Bulldog in the last three seasons to earn a conference rookie of the week honor (Caroline Kennedy, Erika Ward.)
WARD-WINNING PERFORMANCE
Junior Erika Ward (Rochester, Mich.) added 11 digs on the weekend at Rhode Island to rise to 1,165 for her collegiate career. The junior from Michigan is 16 digs back of Robyn Gardner's Division I dig total (in her three years of Bryant's D1 membership) for fifth entering Tuesday.
UP NEXT: MERRIMACK
Bryant will play the first of two Tuesday conference matches when the Bulldogs face NEC newcomer Merrimack Tuesday at 7 p.m. in North Andover, Massachusetts.
Tickets for all home matches at the Chace Athletic Center, including Bryant's first NEC home match Oct. 4 vs. Robert Morris, are available by clicking HERE.
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