Rhode Island Starters
Wagner, Fillion, Paulette, Hammond, Britton, Smith, Ratzloff (libero)
 
Providence Starters
Rudich, Boyle, Barber, Benson, LaMacchia, Rhoden, Taylor (libero)
 
Set One – Providence 25, Rhode Island 23
Rhode Island got off to a hot start, opening a 5-1 lead to begin the first set. Providence slowly got back in it and eventually tied the score at 16-16, following three straight points. Rhody got back on top and led PC 21-19 after a kill by Claire Wagner, but the Friars scored the next three points to take their first lead of the night at 22-21. PC did not trail again en route to the 25-23 opening-set victory.

Set Two – Rhode Island 25, Providence 22
Similar to the first set, Rhody jumped out to a quick lead in the second, scoring seven of the first 10 points. PC tied things up at 13-13 and then used a service ace to pull ahead for the first time at 14-13. A 6-3 Rhode Island run put the Rams in front 19-16 but the Friars refused to go quietly, evening the score at 22-22. Providence had a chance to take its first lead since 16-15, but instead committed a service error that gave URI the 23-22 advantage. Kills by Jamie Smith and Tori Britton finished off the 25-22 win.
 
Set Three – Providence 25, Rhode Island 20
Providence opened the third set on a tear, outscoring the Rams 7-2 and never relinquishing the lead. Rhody cut it to two at 11-9, but PC used a 10-3 run to distance itself for good. Trailing 21-12, the Rams mounted a furious comeback that pulled them within three (22-19) but the Friars' early lead was too much to overcome as PC held on to win 25-20.
 
Set Four – Rhode Island 25, Providence 18
The fourth set was all Rhode Island as the Rams scored the first three points and never gave up the lead. Back-to-back PC attack errors gave Rhody a seven point advantage at 11-4 and the Friars weren't able to trim it to less than two. With a late 17-14 lead, URI used a 7-2 push to put things out of reach for Providence. The Friars fended off consecutive set points for Rhode Island, but a Grace Hammond kill eventually finished things off for URI at 25-18.

Set Five – Providence 15, Rhode Island 12
Providence started things off with back-to-back aces and pushed the lead to 4-0, forcing Rhody to call a time out. The Rams then cut the deficit to one – at 7-6, 8-7, 9-8, 10-9, 11-10 and 12-11 – before finally evening the score at 12-12 on a block by Jamie Smith and Mariah Paulette. The rally fell short however as the Friars claimed the next three points to win the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.

Inside the Box Score

• As a team, Rhode Island had 57 kills to Providence's 51.
• Defensively, PC held a slight advantage in both digs (82-80) and total blocks (10-9).
• Both teams finished the night with a 57.1 sideout percentage.
• Grad transfer Jamie Smith stuffed the stat sheet, registering 13 kills, seven assists, six digs, five block assists and two service aces.
• Junior Claire Wagner led Rhode Island with 14 kills. She also added eight digs and one assist.
• Freshmen Grace Hammond finished the night with 27 assists and 12 digs for the double-double. She also had four service aces, three kills and a pair of block assists.
• Senior Mariah Paulette added five block assists and seven kills.
• Senior Tori Britton had nine kills, four block assists and three digs.
• Senior Ella Ratzloff led Rhode Island with 32 digs on the night. She also had five assists and one ace.
• Sophomore Brynne Wright recorded nine kills, two block assists and one service ace.
• Senior Abby Fillion provided the Rams with 14 digs.
• Junior Adel Gage added 12 assists and a pair of digs.

Up Next
The Rams are back in action this weekend at the Red Raider Classic. There, Rhody will face Ohio State (Friday), Texas State (Saturday) and host Texas Tech (Saturday).