The University of Rhode Island Volleyball team dropped a crucial conference game Sunday afternoon against the La Salle Explorers, losing three sets to one.
The Rams had the opportunity to take possession of first place in the Atlantic 10 East, but failed to do so after the Explorers, who only had six players available, took advantage of many missed opportunities from Rhody.
“I thought we learned some really good lessons,” URI Head Coach Nicki Holmes said. “I thought we learned one very valuable lesson of not letting off on the gas, and I think the team took that to heart.”
In the first set, the Rams came out of the gate with a 6-3 lead before the Explorers countered with a 9-2 scoring run to take the lead in the middle of the set. The Rams eventually tied the score at 19, but similar to earlier in the set, the Explorers would ring off six consecutive points to win the first set.
The Rams responded with another strong start in the second set, scoring the first three points of the set. This time, they would prevent the Explorers from making a run and held on to win the set 25-16.
It looked like Rhody would take the third set after Samantha Blahut slammed it past the Explorer defense to make it 23-20, but the Explorers came back to tie it at 23. From here, the momentum swung in La Salle’s favor as they went on to take the third set 27-25.
In a crucial fourth set, the Rams would get off to yet another quick start, scoring five of the set’s first six points. Unfortunately, La Salle just wouldn’t go away, rallying with an 11-5 run to put themselves back up 12-10. Four lead changes ensued before the Rams tied the score at 23. A kill followed by a service ace from Yaiza Franco helped the Explorers secure the victory and move to 4-0 on the season.
Holmes took a moment to praise the difficulty of what the Explorers had to do playing with only six players.
“Kudos to La Salle for doing that,” he said. “That’s hard, that’s extremely hard. I also do think that they’re some advantages to having a core group out there that says ‘this is it.’ I thought they played really well and understood the circumstances.”
Redshirt senior Natale Zanellato led the way for the Rams with a double-double, recording 12 kills and 13 digs. Despite the outstanding performance from Zanellato, this wasn’t what stood out the most to Holmes.
“[Natale] had to do something that she doesn’t normally do––play back row,” Holmes said. “She had to fill in some holes for some personnel that we had to change up for La Salle. Not only the double-double, but it was the adversity of doing new things in that moment that I thought was pretty good for her.”
Holmes also credited sophomore setter Adel Gage for stepping into an unusual role as the team’s passer.
“She came to us and said if we needed help in this specific area of the court, I want to try and learn it and try to help the team as much as I can,” he said. “I thought she did a great job physically and mentally on the court. You don’t see that everyday and it’s nice to see and I thought her teammates appreciated her for that.
The Rams will have some time off before returning to the court on March 17 against Fordham. That game will be the first of a potential six games in a 12-day stretch for the team as they close out the regular season.