Bryant University

KINGSTON, R.I.- The Bryant University women's volleyball team topped Brown, 3-1, in its final match of the 2026 Ocean State Cup Sunday, Sept. 6 at Keaney Gymnasium.  

Despite the Bears (1-2) handily winning the first set, the Bulldogs (3-4) used a strong all-around effort to capture the next three.  

Nina Gavin hammered home a game- and career-high 14 kills on a .462 hitting percentage. Madison Koeller posted a double-double of 22 assists and 14 digs. Carrina Barron tallied a season-high 22 digs.  

 

"What a great team win today. We had extraordinary, consistent performances from so many people. Madison Koeller had a double-double only playing three rotations. Maddy Keem set a really great tempo. Brookelyn (Talmadge) was outstanding blocking and Layla (Olatunde) offensively is such a threat. The passing and defense of Claudia (Camacho-Castro) and Carrina Barron were outstanding."  

 

"I can't say enough about the opposites. They were the difference maker for us today. Nina Gavin and Hannah Jackson were both money makers and scoring a lot of points, that really opened things up for the offensive front. The bench had a lot of energy and we're really excited to get this win."  

 

SET 1- Brown, 25-18 

• After falling down 3-0, the Bulldogs knotted the score at four off an ace from Carrina Barron and kill from Hannah Jackson.  
• Brown held an 11-9 advantage through 20 rallies.  
• The Bears extended their edge to five, 19-14, forcing a Bryant timeout.  
• Brown kept a lead of four or better out the break to claim set one.  

SET 2- Bryant, 25-15 

• The Bulldogs built an early 8-5 lead behind kills from Gavin, Kalia Alvarado, Layla Olatunde and Hannah Jackson. 
• Another Gavin kill later pushed Bryant's advantage to 12-7, prompting a Brown timeout.  
• Both sides traded points over the next eight rallies, with the Bulldogs holding a 16-11 edge after Olatunde powered down a kill.  
• A dump-off kill from Madison Keem and two straight Brown attack errors gave Bryant its largest lead of the set at 21-12.  
• Alvarado drilled a kill at set point to level the match.  

SET 3- Bryant, 26-24  

• Bryant carried its momentum over into the next set, storming out to a 10-4 advantage through pairs of kills from Jackson and Alvarado.  
• The Bears battled back, stringing together a 10-4 surge of their own to deadlock the score at 14-14.  
• The Bulldogs later reclaimed their lead and carried a 20-17 edge following a kill from Barron.  
• Brown countered with three straight points and tied the score at 20-20.  
• The Bears brought Bryant to set point, but with their backs against the wall, the Bulldogs reeled off four straight scores as Brookelyn Talmadge slammed down a solo block to take the set. 

SET 4- Bryant, 25-21 

• Brown led 11-8 until Bryant racked up six answered points to take a 14-11 lead. The run featured an ace and kill from Kaitlin Curran.  
• The Bulldogs stretched their margin to six, 18-12, after forcing two Bears' service errors.  
• The Bears pulled within three points at 23-20, but Bryant fended them off to claim their fourth victory of the season.  

• The Bulldogs snapped their two-game losing streak against Brown, beating them for the first time since 2022. 
• Jackson logged 11 kills on a .267 hitting percentage.  
• Curran finished with 12 digs, nine kills and three aces. 
• Olatunde added eight kills while Alvarado contributed seven kills.  
• Barron has compiled 20-or-more digs in back-to-back games.  
• Keem produced 17 assists and two aces.  

The Bulldogs return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 8 when they travel to Storrs, Connecticut to face UConn at the UConn Volleyball Center. First serve is set for 6 p.m. and the match will be streamed on uconnhuskies.com