Volleyball Falls to Bryant, 3-1, on Friday
Central honored three seniors before the match.
The Central Connecticut volleyball team fell to Bryant, 3-1 (25-16, 25-21, 18-25, 25-13), on Friday in Northeast Conference action at Detrick Gymnasium. The Blue Devils rallied to win the third set after falling behind, but the Bulldogs claimed the fourth set and the match.
The loss drops the Blue Devils to 11-14 overall and 3-9 in NEC play, while Bryant improves to 19-11 overall and 10-2 in league play.
Bryant used a run of four straight points to take an 8-3 lead in the opening set and led throughout. A late spurt by the Blue Devils when they outscored Bryant, 4-1, helped close the deficit before the Bulldogs closed out the set.
The Bulldogs took a 7-1 lead in the second set after a run of five points forced a timeout by Central. A kill by junior Cassidy Stankowski helped CCSU get back within 18-14 and following two Bryant errors the Blue Devils closed the deficit to 21-19. Following a timeout, Bryant regrouped and managed to take the set after scoring the final two points.
The Blue Devils rebounded in the third set by storming out to a 9-2 lead. Senior Ashley Lenington served six straight points to give CCSU a lead it would not relinquish. Central hit .333 as a team in the set, while limiting Bryant to just .088. A kill by senior Makenna Lommori closed out the set to give the Blue Devils a 25-18 win.
Bryant took a 7-1 lead in the third set, but Central got back within 8-5 following a kill by Lenington. The Bulldogs managed to maintain the lead throughout the set and a 11-2 run pushed the set out of reach before consecutive kills closed it out.
Lommori led Central with eight kills and 15 assists, while Lenington added 13 assists. Stankowski had 11 digs and senior Heather Trueman had a team-high five blocks.
Sophie Hoekstra led Bryant with 18 kills, while Vika Nesterov had 50 assists. Debora Magalhaes had 38 assists.
Prior to the match, Central honored senior class of Ashley Lenington, Makenna Lommori and Heather Trueman who were playing their final home match.
CCSU returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 14, at Saint Francis U.