Bison volleyball is off to a red hot start, largely due to the contributions of first-year Bri Frazilus, who earned all-tournament honors this past weekend. The outside hitter from Cary, N.C. led the team in kills (42) and had the second most digs (32) on the weekend as they went 3-0 in the Saint Francis Tournament. The aspiring Biology major’s impact was particularly impressive due to the fact that it was her first weekend of collegiate matches, though it was far from surprising. 

Frazilus is very familiar with athletic success, as her list of accomplishments includes being a four-time All-Conference and All-State selection, four-time Prep Volleyball Phenom List recipient, 2020 Conference Player of the Year recipient, 2021 Conference Offensive Player of the Year recipient, and the 2022 Mid-Atlantic Region Jack and Jill of America Athlete of the Year recipient. She was also a multi-year team captain for both her club and high school teams and helped lead her high school team to a state and conference championship. Frazilus has always been one to rise to the occasion, and she did just that this past weekend in the team’s first tournament of the year.

For the first match of the tournament, the Bison played Bellarmine, whom they defeated 3–1, including winning 3 straight sets to close the match. Frazilus posted a team-high 14 kills and also pitched in 16 digs in her first collegiate match. She believes that this first match was crucial for their success in the rest of the tournament, as the highs and lows of the Orange and Blue’s first match together prepared them for Gardner Webb and Saint Francis immensely.

“In practice we try to win at all costs, even if it is an ugly win to win no matter what. We used that first match and said to ourselves ‘now we can go up from here,’ We then used that in our Gardner Webb match where we won in straight sets,” Frazilus said.

Frazilus was outstanding in the Gardner Webb match, as she finished with 22 kills, 11 digs, and a .514 hitting percentage. Though she enjoyed much personal success, Frazilus was particularly ecstatic about how the team started to put everything together in that match, which ultimately led to their brilliant victory over the home squad Saint Francis.

“Our team really connected and started to use everything we practiced to win the match against Saint Francis in five sets. In the fifth set when it was closer, everyone showed up and played their roles for the pieces to come together and win.”

The pieces are indeed coming together for the Bison, whose start to the year has been the best since the 2017 season. This group has high expectations for this year, and are showing no signs of slowing down as they look to ultimately compete for a Patriot League title.

“As a team, we are aiming to win the Patriot League and boost our ranking within the conference. We are starting off really well and are going to keep going up from here. I am super excited to see everyone grow as players and for us to grow as a team.”

The Bison look to improve on their excellent weekend as they face George Washington at 6 p.m. on Friday. They will go on to host NJIT at 9 a.m. and LIU at 4 P.M. on Saturday in their first home tournament of the season in Davis Gym.