SMITHFIELD, Rhode Island – The Marist volleyball team was swept in its final two matches at the Hampton Inn-Vitational on Saturday. The Red Foxes dropped a tough one to North Dakota 3-2 in the morning, and then lost 3-0 to Bryant later in the evening.

Following the sweep, Marist falls to 0-6 on the season. Meanwhile, North Dakota improves to 4-3, and Bryant goes to 2-5.
 

MARIST VS NORTH DAKOTA SUMMARY

• The Red Foxes came out swinging in the first set, opening on an 8-1 run to gain the lead. The Fighting Hawks slowly chipped away at the Red Foxes lead, however, and eventually managed to even up the set at 22. The teams exchanged points, but a monster kill from sophomore Ashley Cruise, followed by a North Dakota attack error, gave Marist a 25-23 win in set one.
• Marist played its best set of the year in set two. The Red Foxes hit a combined .545 in the set, while the defense held the Fighting Hawks to a -.167 hitting percentage. Marist took 21 of the first 26 points of the set, to take an impressive 21-5 lead right out of the gate. The Red Foxes never wavered, and took the set 25-7.
• North Dakota stifled Marist's momentum in a big way in the third set, opening on a 7-3 run. The Red foxes battled back and evened the score at 11, but the Fighting Hawks used another large run to finish off the set. They closed on a 14-4 run to win the set 25-15.
• Both teams exchanged points early in set four, leading to a 10-10 tie. From there, the Fighting Hawks seized some momentum, and got out to a 24-20 lead. The Red Foxes answered with three straight points, clawing to within one point of a tie, but Ashley Brueggeman slammed home the set-winning kill for North Dakota, tying the match at 2-2.
• The Fighting Hawks took a 12-9 lead in set five, and forced Marist to use its final timeout of the set. Senior Nikki DeSerpa slammed home a kill out of the timeout, but it wouldn't spark the Red Foxes offense, as North Dakota went on to take the set 15-13, and the match 3-2.

 

MARIST VS NORTH DAKOTA STATS

• Nine different Red Foxes contributed kills in the match. Senior Megan Fergus led the way with a team-high 16 kills and five total blocks.
• In her first career match and start, freshman setter Halle Carter tallied 41 assists, obviously good for a career high. She also added 15 digs, tallying her first career double-double, along with her first career kill.
• Freshman Sophia Theriot led Marist in digs, providing a career-high 21.
• Brueggeman led the Fighting Hawk's attack with 17 kills.
• Despite the loss, Marist outhit North Dakota .159-.123

 

MARIST VS BRYANT SUMMARY

• Marist's offense never really clicked throughout the entirety of this match. In set one, the Red Foxes only lead came on the opening point, as Fergus fired a kill to the back-right corner. Bryant gained control from that point on, and got out to a 21-13 lead. Marist showed some fight, closing the gap to 21-20 with a 7-0 run, but the Bulldogs fought off the comeback attempt and won the set 25-21
• The teams battled for the lead early in set two, but eventually a service ace from sophomore Morgan Owens evened up the set at 10. Marist hung in this one until the end, after a kill from senior Stephanie Stone trimmed Bryant's lead to just 21-19. However, the Bulldogs took four of the next five points, and the set 25-20.
• By set three, the Red Foxes seemed to be out of steam. Bryant took a 7-5 lead early in the set, and Marist struggled to score from that point on. The Bulldogs went on a quick 10-0 run, forcing Marist two burn two timeouts in the process, and that was all they needed to seize the momentum of the set. Bryant completed the sweep, winning set three 25-14.

 

MARIST VS BRYANT STATS

• Junior Sarah Austin led the Red Foxes with 11 kills in the match. DeSerpa added nine kills, matching her season-high.
• Owens led Marist with 11 digs, while Carter provided 29 assists in her second career start.
• Freshman Gabby Murray tallied a career-high two total blocks, leading the Red Fox defense.
• Haley O'Brien led the Bulldogs attack with nine kills.
• Bryant outhit Marist, .330-.239

 

NOTES ON THE DAY

• Fergus averaged 10 kills per match and 2.7 kills per set throughout the tournament, earning her a selection to the Hampton Inn-Vitational All-Tournament Team.
• DeSerpa's nine kills against Bryant moved her into sole possession of ninth place on Marist's all-time kills list.
• Carter's 41 assists against North Dakota was a season-high assist total for a Red Fox this season.
• Former Marist setter, and now assistant coach at Bryant, Taylor Van Der Biezen ('19) got the best of Assistant Coach Kelsey Lahey ('16) in the first matchup as coaches for the former Red Fox teammates.

 

UP NEXT

The Red Foxes will travel to California to participate in the SJSU/SCU Tournament next weekend. This will be Marist's final tournament of the season, and final matches before opening conference play.