The University of Rhode Island volleyball team (5-7) competed at the Penn State Invitational this past weekend, dropping their first two games to extend a four-game losing streak before they ended their free-fall with a victory in their final game.
URI first fell to nationally ranked Pennsylvania State University on Friday and then to Clemson University on Saturday, both in straight sets, before salvaging the weekend with a 3-2 win Saturday evening against Howard University.
The Rams’ matchup against No. 18 and host school Penn State had a different feel for URI head coach Bob Schneck, who is in his final season of coaching has become nostalgic about all of the memories he has made in his storied career. Schneck’s friendship with Penn State head coach Russ Rose goes back to his early years of coaching.
“Russ Rose and I go way back, he is one of the reasons I got into coaching,” Schneck said. “Being my 36th and final season coaching here he wanted our team to play at their tournament one final time so we could face each other.”
The noble gesture, however, did not deter Schneck and his team from focusing on the task on hand, which was opening the tourney with a statement win. The result of the two lauded veterans’ final clash did not go in URI’s favor, as it was a 3-0 shellacking. Although it was an unfavorable result, the opportunity to play one of the best opponents in the nation does not happen every day and the Rams made the most of their time that they shared with a high-quality opponent.
URI lost their opening set to Penn State 25-6. In the second set URI was tied with Penn State 10-10, before Penn State finished on a 15-8 run to go up two sets. In the third set URI broke out to a 7-4 lead before Penn State took back control and finished the match in straight sets.
In their second match of the weekend, URI faced Clemson, and was again swept for the second match in a row, as they could not get it going offensively. However the scores, aside from the second set, were much closer than one would expect from a team that hit just .100 for the match, losing 25-22, 25-2, 25-22. Rhode Island senior Layne Self led the team with nine kills against Clemson.
Many of the Rams’ losses this season have been a result from close matches that were decided in crunch time.
“I thought our biggest issue this season has been finishing matches late,” Schneck said. “We are always competitive, but there have been quite a few games this season we could have won if we finished the team late.”
In Rhode Island’s lone victory this past weekend, Junior Marie Gillcrist led the team with the best statistical game of her career coming against Howard University. On multiple occasions, URI found themselves down by a set, yet in accordance with Schneck’s plea to finish late, they found a way to recover during the fourth and fifth sets for a comeback victory.
Gillcrist led the way with 17 kills and only three errors in her 29 attacks. Rhode Island’s sets against Clemson would go 23-25, 25-16, 18-25, 25-16, and 15-8 for the win. In the fifth and final set, Gillcrist had three of her 17 kills. Coach Schneck was pleased with the way his team performed following two tough losses, and especially the performance of Gillcrist, who got out of the evening than just a successful performance.
“Facing Howard, we really showed our best stuff of the weekend, and especially for Marie,” Schneck said. “Her father, who is a marine, made the trip and was able to watch her play. He was really cheering her on, and it resulted in the best match of her career. It was a great moment for her and our team.”
The tough test for Rhode Island could be beneficial in preparation for opening conference play this upcoming weekend. Rhode Island will host Atlantic-10 conference opponents Duquesne University Friday night and La Salle University Saturday night at Keaney Gymnasium.