The University of Rhode Island volleyball team was swept by George Mason University as the search for its first conference win of the season continues.
URI opened Atlantic 10 Conference play Friday on the road in Fairfax, Virginia, against a Patriots team that was picked fourth in the preseason poll.
George Mason dominated the first set; the Patriots had 17 kills as a team, six of which came from fourth-year outside hitter Kiera Hamilton. Hamilton’s strong performance allowed the Patriots to cruise to a 25-15 win.
“That kid is unbelievable,” URI head coach Ryan Sullivan said. “She is going to be in the running for conference player of the year.”
Hamilton continued to give URI problems in the second set. She had another strong performance with 12 kills, the same number of kills that the Rams had as an entire team. George Mason rolled to another dominant victory, 25-16, to take a 2-0 lead.
The Rams fought off the sweep thanks to a 14-5 run leading to a 25-20 win. However, Rhody’s backs were still against the wall. Holding on to a slim 7-5 lead, it looked like a potential fifth set was going to be forced, but George Mason pulled away to win 25-19 and pick up a four-set win.
On Saturday, George Mason started the first set on an 11-4 run. Sullivan called a timeout and the Rams got themselves back into it with an 11-5 run. It was a 21-20 game late, but four straight Patriot points put the nail in the coffin.
The next two sets weren’t as competitive; George Mason dominated URI 25-15 in the second set and 25-12 in the third to get the sweep.
“We got rolled,” Sullivan said. “You’ve got to take your blows, but we want to be able to punch back better than we did for George Mason.”
URI will look to bounce back against Loyola University Chicago when they come into Keaney Gymnasium for a two-game series that starts on Saturday.
“I’m just super excited we get to play Loyola,” third-year setter Dakota Henry said. “Who obviously is also a very good team, but I’m excited we get to do it in Keaney Gym.”
The Rams haven’t played a game in Keaney Gymnasium in almost a full month. The last match was during the Ocean State Cup back on Sept. 6.
