Balanced Attack Leads Bulldogs in Home Sweep of Stonehill

SMITHFIELD, R.I.- The Bryant women's volleyball team opened their home schedule with a 3-0 sweep of Stonehill Tuesday night in the Chace Center. Twelve different players recorded a kill for the Bulldogs, who improved to 2-2 on the season ahead of the Bulldog Invitational this weekend.

Bryant 3, Stonehill 0 (25-7, 25-11, 27-25)

Records: Bryant (2-2), Stonehill (0-5)

Coach Garlacy's Comments: "This was a great start to our homestand. Our middles hit very efficiently today and we served extremely aggressively. Our team takes protecting home court very seriously, and we're looking forward to continuing that tradition this weekend."

How it Happened:

Set 1: Bryant jumped out to an early lead, scoring six of the first seven points before Stonehill called timeout. The Bulldogs followed with a 7-3 run, forcing the Skyhawks to burn their second timeout before the media break. Bryant continued their first set dominance out of the timeout, finishing the set on a 12-3 run to win 25-7. Mia Cergol filled up the stat sheet in the first, with one kill, three assists, and two aces.

Set 2: Stonehill briefly took a 2-1 lead to start the second, but back-to-back aces by Deluga put Bryant in the lead and kickstarted a run that saw them go up by four. The Skyhawks were able to keep pace with the Bulldogs in the first half of the set, but a 10-0 run by Bryant, which included a streak of six consecutive kills, put the score out of reach. Deluga posted three aces in the set while Haley O'Brien and Fabi Castro each had three kills.

Set 3: Stonehill was able to take a quick 5-0 lead to start the third, but Bryant was able to claw back, getting the score within one at 7-6. The Skyhawks began to stretch the lead again, but the Bulldogs used momentum out of a timeout to eventually tie the score at twenty. Both teams traded points before Maggie Ryan's first career ace sealed the win at 27-25.

Bulldog Notes and Notables

• Bryant's twelve aces were their second most in a three-set match at the Division I level, and sixth most in any D-I contest. Six different players had an ace, led by four from Josie Deluga.

• The Bulldogs' .391 attack percentage was their ninth highest in a single D-I match. They finished with 31 kills and just six errors on 64 attempts. Alysa Wright and Haley O'Brien led the way hitting .800 and .750 respectively.

• Of the twelve players to record a kill, Riley James led the way with seven. She also contributed two aces and an assist.

• Freshmen Melis Isik and Ana Fuertes both made their collegiate debuts in the match. Isik had one kill and five assists, while Fuertes finished with a kill and a block.