Sept. 1, 2004

KINGSTON, R.I. - The University of Rhode Island women's volleyball team lost its season-opener to Boston College 3-2 on Wednesday in Keaney Gymnasium. The Rams had a 2-1 lead in games, but the Eagles came back to win the fourth game 30-25. In the fifth game, Rhode Island held leads of 8-5 and 11-8, but Boston College ran off six straight points to take a 14-11 lead. After the Rams averted one match point, the Eagles finished off the match with a kill by Allison Anderson. Senior Kaleena Miller (Mahopac, N.Y.) led the Rams with a double-double of 21 kills and 24 digs. Sophomore Rachel Bello (Wyckoff, N.J.) posted her first career double-double with career-highs of 18 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore setter Lindsay St. John (Yorba Linda, Calif.) posted her first career double-double with a career-high 50 assists and 11 digs. Senior Beatriz Arana (Cali, Colombia) had 14 kills and eight digs and junior libero Marie Rolfe (Toronto, Ontario) had 14 digs. Dorota Niemczewska led five Eagles in double-figures in kills with 12. Morgan Woodcock and Allison Anderson each had 11 kills, while Verena Rost and Alison Shepp had 10 apiece. Katie Anderson finished with 12 digs and Allison Anderson finished with a double-double adding 10 digs to her 11 kills. Boston College won the first game 30-24, but Rhode Island came back to win the next two games by identical 30-25 scores. The Rams then jumped out to a 13-7 lead in the fourth game, but the Eagles won seven of the next eight points to tie the score at 14-14. The teams battled back and forth, with Rhode Island trailing 24-23 when the Eagles went on a 6-2 run to close the game and force a deciding fifth frame. Rhody took an 8-5 lead on a kill by Bello and then went up 11-8 after a kill by St. John and a BC hitting error, but the Eagles then rattled off six-straight points to take a 14-11 lead. Miller came up with a kill to cut the gap to 14-12, but the Eagles closed out the match on the next serve. The Rams (0-1) return to action this weekend in the Army Invitational at West Point, N.Y. Rhode Island plays another Big East opponent on Friday, when they take on Syracuse. The Rams play Fairleigh Dickinson and the host Army on Saturday.