Bryant set to meet with Sacred Heart in Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Bryant University volleyball team looks to improve on their 2-0 mark in Northeast Conference play as they hit the road for their first NEC road match of the season at Sacred Heart. The doubleheader is set to begin at 2 p.m. followed by a 4 p.m. start for game two. Both matches will be streamed on NEC Front Row.

THE PARTICULARS
Opponent: Sacred Heart
Location: William H. Pitt Center (Fairfield, Conn.)
Time: Game one – 2 p.m. | Game two – 4 p.m.
Live Stats: Presto Stats – Game one | Game two
Watch: NEC Front Row

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS

• Sacred Heart enters the 2021 spring season as the defending NEC Champions from 2019 where they posted a 13-3 NEC record.
• Bryant fell to Sacred Heart in both meetings last season, 3-0 and 3-1. 
• The Pioneers are 3-3 to start the season and 2-0 in conference play. Sacred Heart fell to St. John's, Albany, and Seton Hall in the non-conference schedule. Most recently, the Pioneers swept Central Connecticut in back-to-back matches to open the conference slate.
• Graduate student Olivia Fairchild transferred to Sacred Heart from Fordham. She's been SHU's heavy hitter so far this season as she posted three matches with double-digit kills, including a season-best of 19 against Central Connecticut. So far this season, she posts a hitting percentage of .225 and accumulated 63 kills and 18 blocks across six matches.
• Junior Emma Smallcomb is Sacred Heart's defensive specialist who leads the team with 89 digs. At Albany, the junior tallied a season-best 24 digs and has posted double figures in that category in all but one game this season.
• The Pioneers are led by Rob Mchan in his 15^th year at the helm.

BULLDOGS NOTES AND NOTABLES

• Bryant opened the season with a pair of sweeps over Merrimack as they post a 2-1 overall record and a perfect 2-0 mark in NEC play.
• The Bulldogs lead the country in aces per set with 2.70. Against Merrimack, the team combined for 21 service aces across the two matches, highlighted by 13 in the second match. Freshman Claudia Borri led the team with six in the second match alone.
• Bryant also leads the conference in hitting percentage (.272), opp hitting percentage (.120), and team service aces (27). The team ranks 14^th nationally in opp hitting percentage.
• Freshman Fabiana Castro has made an immediate impact on the Bulldogs. She leads the team with 26 kills and posted two 10 kill performances so far this season. She ranks third in the NEC with a .370 hitting percentage.
• After missing the season-opener at Providence, sophomore Emma McGovern is back and ranks second on the team with 21 kills across two games. McGovern was just two kills away from her career-best in match one against Merrimack where she posted 15.
• Sophomore Alysa Wright has been very consistent so far this season for the Black and Gold. She ranks fourth in the conference with a .350 hitting percentage and third in the NEC with 1.11 blocks per set.
• Mia Cergol posted a career-best 34 assists in game one against Merrimack. Her previous career-high of 24 was topped in both matches of the NEC doubleheader as she tallied 26 in game two. She even notched a new career-best in kills with five against the Warriors.