SMITHFIELD, RI- A big day from sophomore Alexis Lambert (McKinney, Tx./McKinney-Boyd) would not be enough as Bryant would rally in each of the three sets to sweep the conference opener for both teams 25-18, 25-15, 25-22.
 
The difference maker in the match was the Bulldogs ability to string together runs, breaking open back-and-forth sets or stopping the Red Flash momentum.
 
RED FLASH LEADERS
The sophomore Lambert led all players with 13 kills and hit a stout 394, not making an error on 33 swings. Lambert was second on the team with eight digs as libero Jess Barrett (Broadview Heights, OH/North Royalton) led the Red Flash in that category with 15. Madi Tyus (Plano, TX/Bishop Lynch), Nicole Adams (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa East) and Daysha Shamlin (Bear, Del./Tower Hill) each had a pair of block assists to pace the SFU defense.
 
SET ONE RECAP

• Alexis Lambert (McKinney, Tx./McKinney-Boyd) had two kills early to pace the offense as SFU jumped to a 3-1 lead
• Bryant rallied with three-straight to take their first advantage of the match
• SFU answered by capitalizing on Bryant errors to re-take a two-point lead at 6-4
• Again, the Bulldogs would respond with a pair of kills and the teams traded points from 7-7 to 10-10
• Another run by Bryant was halted by Lambert's third kill of the set and out of a timeout, her fourth kill to stop a 4-0 Bryant run and make it 16-13 in favor of the hosts
• Bryant would extend the lead off a pair of Red Flash errors, forcing SFU to use its final timeout down 18-13
• Lambert again would answer out of the break to pull SFU within four, but Bryant answered with five straight to open up a nine-point advantage
• Madi Tyus (Plano, TX/Bishop Lynch) would add a pair of kills and Lambert would finish with seven kills in the opening set but Bryant would close out the first set at 25-18

 
SECOND SET RECAP

• Nicole Adams (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa East) had a pair of kills early as the freshman looked to get going in set two
• Bryant would get kills from Krystin Kingi and Caroline Kennedy, part of another 5-0 run to force an SFU timeout as the hosts grabbed a 6-2 lead
• Lambert would quickly get to 10 kills in the second set, but Bryant maintained a four-point lead as the teams continued to trade points
• Bryant would try to pull away and got a pair of kills from Kingi to get their largest lead at six points, 14-8
• Tyus, Lambert and Adams would all get kills to get much needed momentum to get the Red Flash within three
• Three key points in a row all went to Bryant, two off a pair of SFU errors, forcing a timeout and placing SFU down 18-11
• Bryant would keep the momentum on their side, opening up as much as an 11-point lead and taking set two 25-15

 
SET THREE RECAP

• Nicole Adams (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa East) had a kill and a block to get SFU out to a 2-0 lead
• Bryant answered again with five-straight, forcing a Red Flash timeout
• The Bulldogs would grow the lead to five out of the timeout as SFU couldn't gain momentum
• A pair of Daysha Shamlin (Bear, Del./Tower Hill) and Madi Tyus (Plano, TX/Bishop Lynch) blocks sparked a 5-0 run of their own, tying the set at nine and giving SFU the momentum they needed
• Bryant again had an answer, scoring five straight to lead 14-10 and force the Red Flash to use their final timeout
• After trading points, the Red Flash whittled away at the Bryant lead, a trio of Bryant errors helped and an Adams kill getting SFU within one at 23-22, forcing a Bryant timeout
• Out of the break, the Bulldogs got a kill and forced an attack error to close out the set and the match at 25-22

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Julia Flynn led the Bulldogs with a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs while Kristin Kingi narrowly missed with 10 kills and 9 digs. Bryant, who came into the match with the top offense in the NEC in non-conference play showed why, with four players with at least nine kills and out hitting the Red Flash 297 to 165. The Bulldogs also had a 6-0 advantage on service aces while the Red Flash had a 4-3 advantage on total blocks.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
SFU wraps up their longest conference road trip of the season, and their first of 2018 at Central Connecticut on Saturday. First serve is set for 4 p.m. and can be seen on NEC Front Row.