Through the ups and downs of the 2024 season, a rebuilding University of Rhode Island women’s volleyball team has based their new “comeback kids” mantra on the leadership of the transfer from Mercer University, third-year setter Kiera McCarles.
In a matchup with Duquesne University this week, a five-set match came down to a Rhode Island set point, with Rhody up on the Dukes 15-14. At one point, the Rams were up 2-0 after the first two sets, and dropping the fifth set would signify a disappointing end to a night in the Keaney Gymnasium.
However, with match point in the balance, the ball found its way to the backline in the hands of their best server, McCarles. McCarles, who ranks third in the Atlantic 10 for service aces per set with 0.43, has been a force starting points for the Rams this season.
With a subsequent thump, the ball soared over the net and onto the hardwood for her 25th ace of the season, giving Rhode Island the win.
“Marissa [Soistman] and I just dapped each other and said ‘I don’t even know what the heck just happened,” URI Head Coach Ryan Sullivan said.
McCarles has been a large part of the Rams’ newfound success this season. Compared to the recent past, the Rams have already won more overall and conference games in 2024 than the last two seasons respectively.
McCarles’ impact to this new found culture can be indicated on the stats sheet. Through 20 matches so far, she leads the Rams with 313 assists and is tied with first-year Dakota Henry for a team-leading 27 service aces.
McCarles’ effect on the team, though, goes far beyond that stat sheet, and leaks into the team culture as a whole, according to Sullivan.
“From the first moment I met [Kiera], she is the nicest person I’ve ever met, but she also has this get down to business [attitude],” Sullivan said. “She kills it in the weight room, she’s absolutely a leader, she’s a little bit quiet at first. So when you’re with a new team, you’re still adjusting, you’re learning the people.”
That reservedness did not last long for McCarles, as Sullivan appointed her with an important responsibility.
“So within two weeks of knowing her, it was clear to me that she was our team captain,” Sullivan said. “Since she was named captain, she just took that and ran with it. She’s always in the right mood, she’s always the first one to call timeout, we do unlimited timeouts just so people can talk things over… I can’t say enough good things about Kiera as a leader, as a setter, as an individual.”
For McCarles, the adjustment period in Rhode Island is not her first. Not only is Rhody her second stop, but all of her stops have been drastically different. McCarles hails from the great north, Carlisle, Ontario, Canada, a small town 22 miles northwest of downtown Hamilton.
From Canada, to Macon, Georgia, to New England, McCarles has experienced a variety of the landscapes North America has to offer.
“Going to Georgia at first was very hard, it was far from home and that was a big adjustment,” McCarles said. “[I] decided I needed to make a change and coming here, I love it. I’m not going to say it was easy because making a move like that is hard, but I’ve had all my girls around me. [The] coaching staff has been incredible supporting us all the way through, the girls were so welcoming and I just love the environment here. [I’m] having so much fun, it’s a great place to be.”
In terms of the growth shown by the Rams this season, McCarles doesn’t feel like it is a sudden progression at all, rather a gradual growth since the inception of the Ryan Sullivan era.
“I think our team has just improved from day one,” McCarles said. “Everyday we get in the gym and [we] work hard and get better. Again, this is a whole team thing, I think so many people have stepped up and our coaches have really showed us what it is like to be cared for and trust each other on the court.”
From Sullivan’s perspective, he is also a fan of the culture he has built with Kiera alongside him.
“It’s been two months, three months, and our culture is better than many teams that I have been with before, so I’m very proud of that,” Sullivan said. “We keep improving like this, we improve 1% every day, peak at the right point and we are in the [A-10] tournament.”
Sullivan and McCarles will continue their journey towards a potential postseason berth this coming weekend with the rest of the Rams when they travel down for a two-match set with the George Mason Patriots. The first match is set for 6 p.m. on Friday and can be streamed on ESPN+.