The University of Rhode Island women’s volleyball team opened up Atlantic 10 Conference play with a two-game series against George Washington University over the weekend, as the Rams went 0-2 and are now 3-11 on the season.
URI took a trip to the nation’s capital to face off against the Revolutionaries to begin its conference schedule. After going 3-9 in nonconference play, Rhody was looking to get back on track and make a statement with a win.
A statement would be made in the first set of game one, with URI jumping out to an 11-8 lead. Three straight aces from fourth-year defensive specialist Ryleigh Powers and back-to-back errors by George Washington allowed the Rams to extend the lead to 16-8. But the Revolutionaries rallied with a 10-0 run to reclaim the lead. That run was enough to boost George Washington to a set one win by a score of 25-18.
Rhode Island competed in the second set again and held a 20-17 lead, but George Washington once again came from behind to win the set by a score of 25-23. The third set was less competitive, as the Revolutionaries cruised to a 25-13 win to pick up a 3-0 sweep in the first match of the series.
The second match had a similar theme to the first; in the first set, URI kept it close once again, and the score was tied 24-24. However, George Washington got back-to-back points to come out with a narrow 26-24 victory and go up 1-0.
Set two was a case of deja vu, as the score was tied 24-24 again, and the Revolutionaries picked up a kill and then a block to close out the game and get another 26-24 victory. URI found itself in danger of getting swept in back-to-back matches.
The Rams were able to flip the script in the third set. They held onto a 19-15 lead and finally slammed the door on George Washington, keeping the match alive with a 25-20 win. However, in the fourth set, the script flipped back in the Revolutionaries’ favor. With the game tied at 12-12, George Washington once again went on a late run to take a commanding 20-14 lead. The Revolutionaries went on to win the set 25-16 to pick up the victory in four sets.
“It was tough to find momentum,” URI Head Coach Ryan Sullivan said. “That second game against GW, [if] either of those first two sets go our way and we win those, we handle the third set pretty easily.”
Despite the Rams’ tough start to the season, they have kept a multitude of sets close and have had positives to take away in the losses.
“There was a lot of improvement from day one to day two,” second-year middle blocker Havyn Rolle said. “I think we stayed together as a team, and that really kept us in the game.”
After dropping to 0-2 in conference play, URI will look to pick up its first conference win this weekend back at home against Davidson College. Both games on Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at noon will be available to stream on ESPN+.
