October 09, 2010

BULLDOGS MAKE QUICK WORK OF FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON ON HOMECOMING, WIN IN THREE

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Rookie Kendall Gaffney (Colorado Springs, Colo.) knocked down a match-best 13 kills and sophomore setter Jadith Lorenzo (Lawrence, Mass.) recorded her 14th double-double of the season while the Bryant University volleyball team made quick work of league rival Fairleigh Dickinson, taking a 3-0 win over the Knights at home Saturday afternoon.

Bryant (14-9, 2-3 Northeast Conference) never trailed for long in any set, and after calling after a timeout down 5-0 to open the match, the Bulldogs stormed back to dominate for the remainder of the afternoon.

Eleven attack errors hampered Fairleigh Dickinson (8-13, 3-3) in the first frame, as the visitors dropped a 25-16 decision on the back of a -.114 team hitting percentage. Gaffney broke out for seven kills without committing an error in the second to lead the Bulldogs to a 25-20 win and 2-0 match lead with her.583 attack rate, while Lorenzo dished out 13 assists in the set.

The third game saw the home side spread the wealth on the attack, with three players scoring a trio of kills and five more coming from four different Bulldogs. Both Lorenzo and senior Robyn Gardner (Lake Brantley, Fla.) pulled up seven digs on defense, earning Bryant a 25-15 win to take the match in just three sets.

Gaffney made just a single offensive error on the day for a .387 overall attack percentage while Lorenzo's 29 assists were a match best. She added 14 digs for her 14th double-double of the year and second-consecutive such effort. Gardner's 18 digs were also a match high on the afternoon.

Rookie Kaitlyn Klein (Modesto, Calf.) came up with nine kills, tying FDU's Meaghan Wheeler and Violeta Slabakova, who paced the Knights' offense. Sarah Willey put up 20 assists on the day while Kelsey Semler's 17 digs led the visitors defensively. Klein and Gardner each served up a pair of aces for four of the Bulldogs' six in the match, while Slabakova recorded all three of FDU's aces to lead the match.

Bryant returns to Northeast Conference action Sunday afternoon when the Bulldogs host Long Island University at the Chace Athletic Center. Game time is slated for 1 p.m.