SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Stony Brook volleyball team got out to a strong start at the Hampton Inn-vitational, earning a three-set victory over Brown to open the weekend Friday night. The Seawolves move to 4-5 on the year after the win, while Brown falls to 3-1.

Belzung's Reaction
"I'm proud of the way we finished the third set in a tight situation and thought our team competed hard at the end," said head coach Kristin Belzung. "I thought our defense allowed our team to be productive offensively tonight. It was fun to see Emily [Costello] and Liz [Pulver] be aggressive at the pins and have success."

Set-By-Set
- The match began with close play, though the Seawolves never trailed after the opening points of the set. Brown got back within a point late, but Stony Brook closed it out as senior Cydney Bowman (Lake Mary, Fla.) and sophomore LeAnne Sakowicz (Wauconda, Ill.) got up for the block to claim the 25-22 win. 
- Stony Brook rallied for seven straight points early in the second set to make it 10-5 and force Brown to call a timeout. The Bears responded with three straight points of their own after the break in action. The Seawolves were able to remain in control and it was Bowman again at the end of the set, this time with back-to-back kills to seal the 25-16 victory. 
- Set three saw another close start, with the Seawolves able to create a little distance. Brown battled back, putting up three straight points to make it 18-all, and tacked on two more after a Stony Brook timeout to take the lead. Stony Brook did not give up as redshirt junior Emily Costello (Webster, N.Y.) and junior McKyla Brooks (Blasdell, N.Y.) each had a kill to make it 21-21. Brown was able to regain the advantage before Costello sparked a three-point rally for the Seawolves and closed out the match. 

Next Time Out
The Seawolves continue play at the Hampton Inn-vitational on Saturday, Sept. 9. They start the day with a match against host team Bryant at 12 p.m., before closing out the weekend with a match against Manhattan at 3 p.m.