SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The LIU Brooklyn volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to Bryant on the road Saturday evening, falling to the Bulldogs, 25-16, 25-17, 25-22.

The home team took a quick lead in the first set, jumping out to an 8-1 advantage. LIU would score two times after a timeout, but four unanswered points widened the gap to 12-3, in favor of the Bulldogs. LIU capitalized on Bryant errors, and used a block from freshman Katharina Krepper and sophomore Jiayi Zhang to close the gap to 18-11, but the Bulldogs had the momentum they needed, and scored three straight points to end the set a short time later, 25-16.

Bryant's momentum continued into the second set, and the Bulldogs opened with a 4-0 run. A kill from junior Viktoria Fink got the Blackbirds on the board, and kills from Zhang, Alexandra Lilliquist and Krepper helped LIU come back to tie it up, 4-4. A kill from Zhang helped keep it knotted, 5-5, before a service ace from freshman Emily Magee gave LIU its first lead of the day, 6-5. The two teams would go back and forth from there, tying it up until the 9-9 mark. Bryant pulled away at that point, using a kill and a service ace to regain the lead, 13-11. From there, the Bulldogs scored five unanswered points on four straight kills and an ace, to widen the gap to 18-11.  LIU would continue to fight, but in the end, the Bulldogs took the second set on a kill, 25-17, grabbing the match advantage, 2-0.

LIU found its rhythm in the third set. After Bryant opened with a 4-0 run, on four straight kills from Grace Richmeyer, the Blackbirds got back in the game on a kill from Zhang. A solo block by Fink, followed by a Zhang service ace and a solo block by Krepper, and LIU had tied it up, 4-4. The rest of the set was one of runs. Bryant would go up on the Blackbirds, 12-8 and eventually 16-12, but LIU would rally to score six straight points and retake the lead, 18-16. The two teams stayed close, and were tied as late in the set as 21-21, before Bryant pulled ahead. Three points put the Bulldogs up with match point, 24-21. LIU would battle until the end, using a kill from Zhang to stave off the loss, 24-22, but Bryant was able to get the last point needed, to take set three, 25-22, and the match, 3-0.

Sophomore Viktoria Fink led LIU on offense with 10 kills and nine digs, while Amanda Hubbard had 24 assists and eight digs. Freshman Emily Magee had 10 digs in the loss for LIU.

Up next, the Blackbirds travel to take on CCSU, Sunday, November 5 at 3 p.m.