Volleyball got off to a slow start to begin conference play after dropping games VCU and Davidson. Photo Credit gorhody.com
The University of Rhode Island Women’s Volleyball team got off to a tough start to begin conference play, losing both matches in straight sets to Virginia Commonwealth and Davidson this past weekend.
In the first game of the weekend last Saturday, the Rams opened up conference play with a 3-0 loss against VCU. URI struggled to keep up with VCU’s powerful and accurate offense, with VCU hitting 32 percent.
The two teams held pace with each other early, with the set tied at 9. But attacking errors from the Rams on the ensuing points allowed VCU to open up a five-point advantage and eventually take the first set 23-17.
VCU kept the momentum going in the second set, winning 12 of the first 17 points. With the deficit too difficult to overcome, VCU would take the second set 25-17.
The final set of the match was much more reminiscent of the first with the two teams battling it out for points. With the VCU owning a 13-12 advantage, they would ring off seven of the next eight points to take a 20-13. From there, VCU finished off the match with a 25-20 victory in the third set.
Although the game didn’t go in the Rams’ favor, there were a few stand out performances. Sophomore outside hitter Brynne Wright played a solid game with 10 kills. Graduate student Jamie Smith kept the defense solid with 11 digs and freshman outside hitter Britney Myers came up big off the bench, matching her career-high of 11 kills.
“Britney brings another sense of athleticism to this team,” Coach Angel Agu said. “She can really get up there and rip it. Especially when we are seeing teams like VCU, who have huge blocks and are an extremely talented and athletic team, being able to have someone who can combat that is huge for us.”
After the VCU match ended, the team traveled four and a half hours south to Davidson, North Carolina for a Sunday matinee matchup against the Wildcats. Unable to maintain momentum throughout the match, the Rams were swept 3-0.
Jamie Smith came up big again, but this time on the offensive side. She recorded 14 kills and an ace. The defense also played a big role in this game with senior libero, Ella Ratzloff, earning 20 digs and Abby Fillion following with 10. Freshman Grace Hammond continued her stellar play this season, getting a double-double with 21 assists and 10 digs. Unfortunately, all of this wasn’t enough to win the match.
Ratzloff believes the entire team is a stronger force-to-be-reckoned-with than they showed in this match. She pointed to the teams’ mistakes as their downfall, particularly errors.
“We were so capable of beating those teams,” she said. “We got in our heads and didn’t control our side of the court. I’m hopeful for the future and hopefully this week we will get back on track.”
Although the weekend did not go as planned, the Rams found many positive key points that they will be taking into their next match. Good communication, team relationships and solid defense are all things that Agu and the Rams will take with them and continue to work on to make them stronger.
“One thing I’m always clear about is that it’s not really about the outcome, but about the process,” Agu said. “It’s cool to see them molding and problem solving within themselves.”
Agu and the Rams travel to Saint Louis to face the Billikens this Friday. Saint Louis, the preseason pick to finish third in the conference this year, are already 2-0 in conference play, beating the same two teams that Rhody just lost to. The game is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.