The University of Rhode Island women’s volleyball team traveled to Fairfax, Virginia to take on the George Mason University Patriots in a two-match series on Friday and Saturday, with both matches going the Patriots’ way.
The first match in the series was a three-set sweep in favor of the Patriots, and in the second match the Rams were able to take the second set before falling 3-1. Despite the on-court result, URI Head Coach Ryan Sullivan was happy about the Rams’ resilience and expects his team to continue marching forward.
“The loss isn’t what defines us, just the fact that we reloaded from the first match and played better,” Sullivan said. “Obviously you gotta start winning some games. We are not trying to make excuses for anyone but we are continuing to improve all the time so it isn’t hard to stay positive.”
On the surface, losing 6-1 across seven sets over a two-match series isn’t ideal, but the Rams finished all but one set within five points of the Patriots. The first set in the first match saw the Rams storm out to a 5-1 lead before they were undone by three service errors. A 6-0 run later in the set put the Rams back ahead 20-17, but that wouldn’t last as they were outscored 8-1 in the final nine points.
The second set was once again undone for Rhode Island by errors, as the Rams had it tied at 22-22 before two service errors gave the Patriots a 25-22 win.
The Rams kept the final set competitive until the Patriots went on a 7-1 run that left them with a 19-12 lead. While Rhode Island finished strong and made it relatively close, it wasn’t able to overcome such a deficit and George Mason completed the sweep with a 25-20 win.
A common theme in all of these sets were the errors committed by Rhode Island, the Rams had 23 total errors and a hit percentage of .067. The errors hurt the Rams momentum and Rhode Island felt as though they were making it easy on their opponents according to second-year outside hitter Madi Disu.
“In some of these matches that we’ve lost, it’s more of one of those things that we gave it to them,” Disu said. “None of these teams have come and straight up earned their wins from us which is the worst part, but it’s also the best because it’s all in our control.”
It wasn’t all negative for Rhode Island in the first match. Even though they lost 3-0, Sullivan and Disu noted some of the positive aspects of the match that the Rams kept in mind as they moved forward.
“Dakota Henry had 23 digs in four sets, Edie Lamoroux [had] double-digit digs as well so our defense is finally starting to turn it around,” Sullivan said. “Statistically we have been improving every single game…I think the focus is going to continue to be trying to finish games.”
However, the Rams don’t let this get to them all that much, as they believe in their abilities and their mindset of moving forward Sullivan.
“We say flush it a lot, so basically flush it down the toilet,” Sullivan said. “That play in the past all we can do now is focus on the next play and the play after that…We don’t doubt our abilities…We can throw our punches too.”
In the second match, the Rams took the second set in a back-and-forth affair that saw the emergence of second-year Megan Disu. In the next set, the Rams tied the Patriots at 26-26 before dropping the next two points. They would end up losing the match 3-1, but not before Disu racked up 13 kills, one shy of her career high. Her twin sister, Madi Disu, said that it was great to finally have Megan back and healthy, as she hadn’t played since Oct. 5.
The Rams now are 2-7 in conference play, and will continue their Atlantic 10 schedule at home against Saint Louis University on Oct. 24 for the first of a two-match set on Thursday and Friday. Saint Louis sits at 3-6 in A-10 play, and the Rams currently sit just two matches out of the A-10 playoffs. Friday’s match will be streamed on ESPN+.