SMITHFIELD, R.I. (August 30, 2022)- The Stonehill College women's volleyball team continued their road trip traveling to Bryant University where the Skyhawks fell, 3-0 (7-25, 11-25, 25-27) at the Chace Athletic Center Tuesday evening. 

Bryant University 3, Stonehill College 0

(7-25, 11-25, 25-27)

Mia Berardino and Lauren McCloskey each led Stonehill with four kills, Jentry Allen was not far behind with three, and Hannah Kemmerer, Lindsey Peirson, and Kaitlyn Watson rounded out the top three with two kills. Molly Turner was all over the court Tuesday night as she dished out a team-high 11 assists and it is the third time this year she has finished with 10 or more assists. Turner has now posted 10 or more assists in 32 matches for her career. Delaney Mihelich was not far behind with seven helpers and has now finished with five or more assists in each match this season. On the defensive side, Bianca Fitch led the squad with a season-high, four digs, Kristen DeLorenzo was not far behind with three, and three other Skyhawks finished with two digs (Allen, Skylar Hanley, and Turner). 

After Stonehill cut an early Bryant lead to one (2-1) by capitalizing on a service error, the Bulldogs went on a 12-3 run to extend their advantage to 10 (14-4) and continued their offensive output to take set one. In the first set for the Skyhawks, Peirson led the squad with two kills. Berardino, Watson, and Kristen Joyce also each chipped in a kill apiece. 

In set two, Stonehill quickly jumped out to a 2-1 advantage courtesy of a service ace by Watson and then a kill by McCloskey. After an attack error gave Bryant a 7-3 lead, Stonehill fought back to get within two (7-5) with another kill by McCloskey and a service ace by DeLorenzo. Both sides continued to go back and forth as Bryant clung to small leads and when Bryant held a three-point lead (11-8), the Skyhawks cut the deficit to one (11-10) after taking advantage of a Bryant service error. However, the Bulldogs would then go on a 10-0 run and would ultimately wrap up the second set. 

Stonehill got off to a scorching start and held a five-point lead (6-1) which was their largest of the evening. Allen spearheaded the quick start courtesy of back-to-back kills that made it 2-0. Turner also highlighted the run with back-to-back service aces which put the Skyhawks up 5-0. Bryant chipped away at the lead and knocked Stonehill's advantage down to one (7-6) but the purple and white responded with a 4-0 burst (11-6) led by a Leah Michalowski kill and Delaney Mihelich service ace. After more back-and-forth action, the Bulldogs pulled within two (17-15) but Stonehill would not let up and pushed their lead back up to three (20-17) courtesy of a Berardino kill. Bryant ended up rallying to tie the contest at 20 after a Stonehill attack error but neither team gave in as each side exchanged points. Later in the set, the Skyhawks recaptured the lead at 25-24 when Watson posted another kill. Despite the one-point lead, Bryant ended up taking back the lead and held on for the win. 

Up Next

Stonehill will have some much-deserved time off before meeting up again with Bryant at the 2022 Kaiser Classic hosted by St. John's (N.Y.) University on Friday, September 9 at 1 p.m.

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