Beginning the final month of its season, the University of Rhode Island volleyball team was swept over the weekend by the number two seed in the Atlantic 10 standings, Virginia Commonwealth University.
VCU, sitting only behind the University of Dayton, hosted URI in Richmond, Virginia, defeating Rhody 3-0 on Friday night and 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.
“They’re obviously very physical and they control the ball very well,” URI Head Coach Ryan Sullivan said. “We scouted them as a team, knowing we definitely had to be aggressive. We thought that our middle could kind of go off against them and they did in the first match.”
First-year middle blocker Havyn Rolle and second-year middle blocker Chloe Abuto started for URI on Friday. Abuto led the team in both blocks (four) and kills with (seven), while Rolle earned five kills and two blocks. With four matches still remaining, Rhody sits at 271.5 blocks on the season.
“In the beginning of the year, I brought the blocking system that I’ve been working on my whole coaching career to be implemented,” Sullivan said. “For the first month of the season, we were just trying to get used to the system and obviously we’re really young, so there’s a little bit of growing pains there. But, in some of the matches that we play, we’ll block five balls per set, and that’s pretty absurd.”
Despite leading VCU in blocks, 8-6, URI was out-performed in every other category, as VCU hit at a season-high .414 and had 49 kills in comparison to URI’s 29.
“We couldn’t pass the ball efficiently enough for our defense, it wasn’t good enough,” Sullivan said. “So, we mixed it up a little bit. We moved to the right side in the middle and had Megan [Disu] on the outside, which allowed us to get a little bit more physical. Our blocking numbers really showed in the second game.”
URI earned 19 blocks on Saturday and held VCU to a hitting percentage of .204. Second-year outside hitter Madi Disu hit .300 on the day, earning a double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs.
The lone Rhody win came in the third set, which it won 25-22. It was a back-and-forth set down the stretch, but Abuto ultimately sealed the match for URI on her fifth kill of the match.
“I think the next step for us is controlling the ball a little bit better, and then towards the end of matches, just continuing to be resilient,” Sullivan said. “I think that we get to 18-18, 19-all, 20-all and then we give up one run. So just a little bit more mental toughness on our end. I think that comes with growing up, and we have a lot of underclassmen in big roles for us.”
In his first season as head coach, Sullivan’s team has doubled the program’s win total from last year with a record of 8-19, which places URI last in the A-10. However, it is still in the conversation of making the conference tournament.
“[It’s] entirely different from what they’re used to, and I think it kind of surprises them that they’re still kind of in the hunt,” Sullivan said. “We are going to need probably three of the next four, if not winning all four of them. But you know what, we’re taking it one at a time starting on Friday.”
The Rams head back home for a weekend series against George Washington University on Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at noon, with their playoff hopes hanging in the balance. Saturday’s match can be streamed on ESPN+.