The University of Rhode Island women’s volleyball team finished its non-conference schedule 5-7 after going 1-2 at the University of Connecticut’s For The White & Blue Tournament this past weekend.
Rhode Island broke out the brooms to kick off the tournament on Friday; the Rams swept Merrimack College in dominant fashion, 25-16, 25-11 and 25-17. With the win, Rhody got back to .500 and had its first sweep of the 2026 season under its belt.
“One of our goals this preseason was to sweep a team,” URI head coach Ryan Sullivan said. “We absolutely waxed them… We handled our own, we hit at a high clip, our defense was on fire, so that was awesome.”
On Saturday, Rhode Island squared off against Coppin State University. The Eagles jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the first set and were in complete control as they cruised to a 25-10 win. The Rams bounced back in the second set with a 27-25 win to tie it at 1-1.
The third set was also tightly contested, but URI hit .000 as a team with nine kills and nine attack errors. The Rams’ self-inflicted errors cost them as the Eagles won the set 25-19 to reclaim the lead.
Sullivan’s squad looked like it was going to force a fifth set as URI held a 20-17 lead. But Coppin State stormed back with a 7-2 run and won 25-23.
Sullivan, a die-hard Chicago Bears fan, noted a similarity between his team’s performance and the Bears. The Bears lost 6-3 to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday and had a game-tying field goal blocked, letting a multitude of opportunities slip through their fingers.
“It’s like our volleyball team,” Sullivan said. “We have opportunities so many times in the fifth set. Or we’ll have match point in the fourth set and then end up having the other team force a fifth and then losing it, so it’s very similar to what our team looks like.”
On the final day of the tournament, the Rams took on the hosting Huskies and squeaked out a 27-25 opening set win. However, Rhody couldn’t capitalize on the momentum as UConn won the next three sets 25-17, 25-18 and 25-20.
“I think that our preseason really prepared us well for conference play,” fourth-year middle blocker Emily Sawyer said. “I think we had some tough competition up until this point, and I think that everything we’ve been doing in practice is really set up nicely.”
The Sacred Heart University transfer was a standout performer for URI over the weekend. She was named to the all-tournament team. Sawyer had 26 kills in the tournament along with seven blocks and five digs.
“What Colston Loveland should be for the Bears, that’s Emily Sawyer,” Sullivan said. “She can play in the middle of the field; she can block with the best middle hitters around… She’s led us in points multiple times this year.”
Sullivan’s football fandom goes past the NFL; he has even adapted coaching techniques from national championship-winning Indiana University head coach Curt Cignetti.
“People criticize him for only practicing 90 minutes,” Sullivan said. “I want our team to recover; conference is such a grind… I like to get into the gym, work hard for 90 minutes or two hours and get out of the gym.”
Rhode Island will travel to Fairfax, Virginia, to begin the conference grind this weekend with a pair of matches against George Mason University. Both matches can be streamed on ESPN+, with the first match Friday at 5 p.m. and the second match on Saturday at noon.
