THE BASICS:

• Score: Bryant 3, Holy Cross 1 (25-15, 25-20, 24-26, 25-18)
• Records: Holy Cross (0-2); Bryant (2-0)
• Tournament: Hampton Inn-vitational
• Location: Smithfield, R.I. (Chace Athletic Center)
• Date: August 28, 2015
• Time: 7:05 p.m.
• The Lead: Junior Emily Popp (Clarkston, Mich.) posted her 1,000th career dig, but the Holy Cross volleyball team fell to Bryant, 3-1, at the Hampton Inn-vitational at the Chace Athletic Center on Friday night by scores of 25-15, 25-20, 24-26 and 25-18.

 INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Popp led Holy Cross with 18 digs, while junior Mandy Sifferlen (Sudbury, Mass.) posted a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs. Freshman Lynsey Petersen (Palos Verdes, Calif.) led the team with 16 kills, while junior Natalie Welsch (Eden Prairie, Minn.) added 10 kills. Sophomore Mary Mullen (Mendota Heights, Minn.) led the Crusaders with five blocks. Junior Katie McKernan (Sylvania, Ohio) just missed a double-double with 20 assists and nine digs.
• Kristin Kingi and Vika Nesterov each led Bryant with 15 kills, while Debora Magalhaes led the Bulldogs with 22 digs.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Popp now has 1,016 career digs. She is the eighth Crusader in program history to post 1,000 career digs.
• Sifferlen's double-double was her first of the season and the 11th of her career.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After some back-and-forth scoring to begin the match, Bryant took control by going on a an 8-0 run to help put the Bulldogs up 12-4 in the first set. The Crusaders were unable to close the deficit,  as Bryant won the first set, 25-15.
• Both teams battled out a close second set, with the lead changing four times and never growing to more than five points. The Bulldogs pulled ahead in the later stages to take the set 25-20.
• After Bryant took a 6-0 lead to start the third set, the Crusaders fought back and were able to grind out a win in extra points, 26-24. Petersen had seven kills for Holy Cross.
• The Bulldogs were able to finish off the match with a score of 25-18 in the fourth set. Kingi tallied four straight kills for Bryant to end the match.

UP NEXT

• The Crusaders will return to action on Saturday, August 29, as they take on Quinnipiac in their final match of the Hampton Inn-vitational at 1:00 p.m.

KEEP CONNECTED:

• There are numerous ways to stay connected with the Holy Cross volleyball team. Follow the Crusaders on Twitter @HCrossVB, on Facebook and on Instagram. You can also get the latest news and results on the team sent directly to your e-mail. To sign up for e-mail alerts go here.