Wright Leads Bulldogs in Five Set Win Over CCSU

NEW BRITAIN, Conn.- Haley O'Brien and Alysa Wright both reached career blocking milestones as the Bryant volleyball team held off Central Connecticut to win in non-conference play Tuesday night.

The Bulldogs went up two sets to none to start the match, but Blue Devil wins in the third and fourth meant Bryant had to go the distance to take down their former NEC foe. Wright led the team with 12 kills and four blocks, including the 300th rejection of her career. O'Brien had a pair of blocks, increasing her career total to 344, the third most in Division I program history.

Coach Garlacy's Comments: "It was another five set battle with CCSU. We served very aggressively as a team with Riley, Fabi, and Emma leading the way. Mia ran a great tempo and ended up with a double-double. It was a total team effort with different players stepping up in different situations. Josie came in off the bench and provided a defensive spark and Aubrey came in and had some huge swings."

Bryant 3, Central Connecticut 2 (25-15, 25-16, 15-25, 21-25, 15-11)

Records: BRY (13-9, 2-2 AE), CCSU (10-9, 4-3 NEC)

How it Happened

Set 1: Both teams traded points to open the first set, with seven ties early on. The Bulldogs took an 8-7 lead on a CCSU attack error, then proceeded to blow it open, using a 9-0 run to help extend the lead to eleven before going to take a 25-15 win. Wright and Caroline Kennedy combined for eight kills without an error in the set.

Set 2: Bryant took control from the beginning of Set 2, opening up a 9-3 lead before the Blue Devils used their first timeout. CCSU was able to cut the Bulldogs' lead to four, but a 4-1 run helped Bryant pull away and eventually win the set. Mia Cergol assisted on all twelve of the Bulldogs' kills in the second.

Set 3: The third set was competitive from the jump, with both teams exchanging the lead on multiple occasions. Central gained momentum midway through the set, using an 11-2 run to turn a tie score into an eight-point lead. Bryant was unable to recover as the Blue Devils avoided the sweep with a 25-15 set win.

Set 4: CCSU opened up an early five-point lead in the fourth, but Bryant rebounded, coming back to tie the score at nine. The Bulldogs briefly took a 13-12 lead, but Central used a 6-0 run to once again push the lead to five. The Bulldogs could not come back, and the match was sent to a fifth set.

Set 5: Aubrey Lapour gave Bryant a spark in the final set, notching two kills and a block to help the Bulldogs take a 4-0 lead. The Blue Devils came back to tie the score at six, but back-to-back kills by Fabi Castro and Emma McGovern kicked off a 4-1 run that saw Bryant take the lead for good. Two more kills by Lapour and Cergol would finish things off and give the Bulldogs the set and the match.

Bulldog Notes and Notables

• Alysa Wright's twelve kills, .280 attack percentage, and four blocks all led Bryant in the match. She maintains team leads with 171 kills, a .297 hitting percentage, 77 blocks, and 21 service aces this season.

• Wright became the sixth player in Bryant's Division I era to record 300 career blocks with her third of tonight's match. She joins Haley O'Brien (344 blocks, 3rd all-time) as active Bulldogs with 300+ career rejections.

• Bryant is now 7-0 this season when Wright reaches 10+ kills in a match. She and Riley James both had double figures tonight.

• Mia Cergol reached 40+ assists for the first time this season, finishing with 44. She also had ten digs, four kills, and a block, good for her tenth double-double on the year.

• The Bulldogs are now 11-7 in non-conference play, with two more matches out of America East left in the regular season. 

What's next: Bryant will return to conference action this Friday, when they host NJIT at 7:00 in Smithfield. The match will be a Pink Out to support breast cancer awareness.