Dartmouth to Host Final Non-Conference Match Against Bryant

Wednesday, Oct. 19: Dartmouth (7-10) vs. Bryant (13-12)
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Hanover, N.H. – Leede Arena
Last Meeting: Tuesday, Sept. 23 – L, 3-1
Live Stats
ILDN

THS WEEK
Dartmouth volleyball will play its final non-conference match of the 2016 season, hosting Bryant at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

LAST TIME OUT
The Big Green went 1-1 at home over the weekend, defeating Cornell in five sets (20-25, 25-15, 24-26, 25-22, 15-13) before falling to Columbia, 3-1 (30-28, 25-27, 22-25, 17-25). In the match against the Big Red on Friday, Emily Astarita earned her 1,000th career kill early in the first set, becoming just the sixth player in program history to reach that milestone. Throughout the weekend, she accumulated 32 kills, 37 digs and four block assists, registering a double-double on both nights. Zoe Leonard also had a double-double in both matches, ending the weekend with a total of 53 assists and 23 digs. Carly Tower made a splash in her first multi-set performance against the Lions, ending up with seven kills, 22 total attacks and five block assists.

SCOUTING BRYANT
The Bulldogs have had a good season so far and enter Wednesday's match with a record of 13-12. They have gone 3-2 in the month of October, defeating UMass Lowell (3-2), Fairleigh Dickinson (3-0) and St. Francis Brooklyn (3-0), while falling to Sacred Heart (3-0) and LIU Brooklyn (3-1). Dartmouth is Bryant's final non-conference match of the season.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE BULLDOGS
On Sept. 22, 2015, the Big Green dropped a 3-1 decision to Bryant on the road (30-28, 19-25, 19-25, 20-25). Astarita led both teams with 21 kills, while fellow senior Stacey Benton recorded a double-double with 39 assists and 10 digs. Jordan Cornwell had a team-leading 14 digs.

Although Dartmouth won the first point off a kill, Bryant took an early lead and, before long, had a 13-8 advantage. The Green went on a four-point run off two Bulldog errors and a kill apiece by Paige Caridi and Sierra Lyle to make it a 14-12 set. The first tie happened at 14 points and 12 more occurred before the end of the set. Locked at 28, two Bryant errors gave Dartmouth the win.

Four Bulldog points to start the second gave the home team a 4-1 lead. The two teams traded points until Dartmouth was trailing, 17-14. From there, Bryant scored five unanswered points off two Green errors, an ace and two kills to make it 22-14. The visitors got within five points (22-17), but a Big Green error and a kill gave Bryant its first victory of the night.

Dartmouth took a 5-2 lead in set three following consecutive aces by Leonard and Caridi, but after the Bulldogs tied the score with three straight points of their own, the teams remained close until two Dartmouth errors and a kill put Bryant up, 15-11. The home team would remain ahead until the end of the set, but the Big Green got within four points following two Bryant errors and a kill by Allison Brady to make the score 22-18 in the Bulldogs' favor. Astarita added one more kill, while Bryant earned its second win of the night off two kills and an ace.

The Big Green and the Bulldogs tied three times before reaching the third point of the fourth set, but six straight Bryant points put the home team at a 9-3 advantage. Dartmouth turned things around by winning eight of the next 10 points to give the Green a 12-11 advantage. The score was tied just twice more before the Bulldogs took the lead and kept it through the end of the set. Three straight by Bryant gave the home team a 22-18 lead and, after allowing just two more Dartmouth points off an error of its own and a kill by Astarita, the Bulldogs ended the match by winning the final two points.

ALL-TIME RECORD BOOK
After getting her 1,000th kill on Friday, Astarita is now sitting at 1,030 following strong performances against Cornell and Columbia. She is currently fifth in Dartmouth's all-time record book, but is two out of fourth and 87 out from third.

IN THE CONFERENCE
Dartmouth is doing well among its Ancient Eight opponents:
Opponent hitting percentage – 2nd (.181)
Blocks – 4th (123)
Blocks/Set – 3rd (2.02)
Service Aces – T2nd (87)
Service Aces/Set – 3rd (1.43)
Digs – 4th (935)
Digs/Set – 5th (15.33)

Individually, the Big Green have a handful of players near the top in a number of categories:
Kills – Astarita, 4th (180, 2.95)
Service Aces – Cox, 4th (23, 0.38)
Total Blocks – Lujan, 2nd (65.0, 1.10)

FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats will be available for both matches on DartmouthSports.com. Those who subscribe to the Ivy League Digital Network (ILDN) can also watch the matches online. For updates on the team, follow Dartmouth's new official twitter: @DartmouthVBall.

NEXT UP FOR THE BIG GREEN
With the first seven Ivy League matches completed, Dartmouth will start over at the beginning with a single match at Harvard on Friday, Oct. 21.

Schedules