URI Women’s Volleyball Gets First Atlantic 10 Conference Victory Against Duquesne
Over the weekend, the University of Rhode Island women’s volleyball team split a two-match series against Atlantic 10 opponent Duquesne.
Following a 3-1 set loss to Duquesne on Friday, Saturday’s sweep against the Dukes not only broke the Ram’s 10-match losing streak, but it was also their first victory in conference.
During the first set, the Rams went on a 5-0 run when it mattered most, turning a 18-14 score match in favor of Duquesne into a 18-19 score in favor of Rhode Island. Third-year outside hitter Andrea Owens became the main catalyst for this set-changing run, registering kills in three of the five points. The set tied again at 20-20 until second-year outside hitter Aerin Bowman struck two kills of her own, also recording a shared block with third-year redshirt, Samantha Blahut. Duquesne again matched the score at 23 apiece, but kills from both first-year Madi Disu and Blahut sealed the first set for the Rams.
For the second set, Owens played an important part in putting up points for the Rams. By midpoint of the set, Owens had six kills, helping Rhode Island get a 15-12 lead. Rhode Island maintained a multi-point cushion for the rest of this set, capping off the set victory with two more kills from Owens, making the final score 25-21.
Looking to complete the sweep in the third set, the Rams fired out early, making the score 7-3. However, Duquesne changed the momentum, recording a pair of three-point runs which turned the score 15-11 for Duquesne. After a kill from Disu to make the game 16-19 for Duquesne, the Dukes shot themselves in the foot after recording three straight attack errors to tie the score 19 apiece. Duquesne followed by scoring twice, but Rhode Island stayed locked in the game with a kill from Disu and two kills from Owens, making the score 22-21. Now tied at 23-23, Duquesne’s Madison Floyd recorded the kill for set point. With their backs against the wall, first-year Megan Disu and Shilling combined on a kill, taking away the set point lead at 24-24. Hope Passerello produced the kill to get the set point for Rhode Island, and an attack error on Duquesne gave the Rams their first A-10 victory of the season, 26-24.
“Anyone can agree that going through conference play without a win can put a lull [on the team],” URI Head Coach Angel Agu said. “For them to see this victory should be attributed to how much work they’ve been putting in and how consistent they have been.”
Agu also gave credit to the leaders of her team when asked about the victory.
“I think our leaders have really stepped up the past couple weeks – Gabby Shilling, Katie Butler, Hannaha Blaney,” Agu said. “To see them lead this team on and off the court has been pretty cool, so I think that’s also attributed to how they’ve been leading this team.”
Despite the loss on Friday, Madi Disu managed to keep the Rams competitive with her strong striking ability, leading Rhode Island with 16 strikes while also picking up six digs in the process. In the victory on Saturday, Disu continued her offensive consistency putting up nine kills for the three matches.
“[The win] is very significant. I think that it has the possibility of turning our season around,” Disu said. “We know now that we are capable of doing this.”
Next weekend, the Rams travel to Missouri for another two-match series against Atlantic 10 opponent, St. Louis. Both matches start at 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday on ESPN+.