How It Happened
Rhode Island (4-4) swept a pair of matches on the first day of the Art Carmichael Invitational Friday, cruising to a 25-11, 25-12, 25-17 win over UMass Lowell in the opener and then battling for a 25-22, 25-20, 25-20 victory over UTEP in the nightcap.

Against UMass Lowell, all 12 Rhode Island players available saw action, and nine different players had at least one kill. The Rams had nine team blocks and forced UMass Lowell (2-4) to a -.116 hitting percentage. UMass Lowell had 17 kills and 28 attack errors in 95 total attacks.

Sophomore Franki Darnold had 17 kills and 12 digs for her team-best fourth double-double in the win over UTEP (3-5). With a hitting percentage of .182 (45 kills, 21 errors, 132 attacks), Rhode Island's steady attack was key to a back-and-forth match that featured 23 ties and eight lead changes.

In other Art Carmichael Invitational action Friday, UTEP swept Hartford 25-20, 25-22, 25-21.

Inside the Box Score

• Freshman setter Callan Kinnan had 50 kills in five sets. She is averaging more than 10 assists per set through her first 21 career sets. With 219 assists thus far, she already ranks 24th in school history in the category.
• With 20 kills in two matches Friday, Franki Darnold has 84 kills in 23 sets this season. She had 85 kills in 44 sets during her freshman season.
• Freshman Layne Self had a team-best 10 kills with four blocks against UMass Lowell. Self also had 12 of Rhode Island's 19 blocks on the day.
• Classmate Lena Vedder had a strong day, finishing with 15 kills, three digs and two blocks.
• Senior Britta Baarstad had eight kills in four sets. She needs just one more kill to become the 15th player in school history to reach 900 for her career.

Stat of the Day

• Seven different Rams recorded at least one service ace Friday. 

What's Next
Rhode Island looks to sweep the competition at the Art Carmichael Invitational Saturday when it hosts Hartford at 3 p.m. UTEP and UMass Lowell play in the early match Saturdayi, beginning at noon.