South County Times

The Bryant volleyball team's four-match win streak was snapped with a 3-1 loss to New Hampshire on Sunday. The loss drops the Bulldogs to 4-3 in America East play with three conference matches remaining.

Emma McGovern and Riley James led the team with 13 kills each, with McGovern adding nine digs, an ace, and a block. Mia Cergol had a match-high 40 assists.

New Hampshire 3, Bryant 1 (27-29, 25-18, 25-20, 25-21)

Records: BRY (16-10, 4-3 AE), UNH (15-9, 3-4 AE)

How it Happened

Set 1: The first set was a back-and-forth affair from the beginning, as the teams battled to 19 ties and eight lead changes. UNH looked to have the late advantage with a 23-21 lead, but a 3-0 run put Bryant ahead with the first chance at set point. New Hampshire came back with two of their own, forcing extended play until a kill from McGovern and an ace from Cergol sealed the win for the Bulldogs.

Set 2: The second set started similarly to the first until a tie-breaking 6-1 run by the Wildcats gave them a 16-11 lead. Bryant battled back to cut their deficit to one, but another run by UNH helped them extend the lead and pull away for the set win. James and McGovern did some damage in the set, combining for seven kills.

Set 3: UNH forced Bryant into an early timeout after scoring six of the first seven points in Set 3. The Bulldogs gradually closed the gap, cutting the Wildcat lead down to two at 22-20 before a 3-0 run gave UNH the win. Five players had multiple kills for the Bulldogs, led by Fabi Castro, Alysa Wright, and James with three each.

Set 4: Bryant scored the first three points in Set 4 and parlayed that momentum into an 11-5 lead before UNH called their first timeout. The Bulldogs were able to maintain their lead out of the TO, but the Wildcats gradually cut into the advantage, eventually using a 6-0 run to take the lead 18-17. Bryant could not recover, and New Hampshire went on to take the set and the match.

Bulldog Notes and Notables

• Emma McGovern tied season highs with 13 kills and 14.5 points. She and Riley James combined for 26 of Bryant's 53 kills in the match.
• The Bulldogs reached 50+ kills for the ninth time this season.
• Mia Cergol posted her third 40 assist match of the season and fell one dig shy of a double-double. She added three kills and an ace and tied a season-high with three blocks.

What's next: The Bulldogs will play their final non-conference match of the season on Wednesday at Hartford. They will return to conference play and round out the three-match road trip next Sunday at NJIT.

Original source can be found here.