Rhode Island Starters
Wright, Shilling, Passerello, Pinell, Blahut, Nelson, Blaney

Duquesne Starters
Kelly, Helm, Henschen, Poling, Osborn, Parrott, Grimm
 
Set One – Rhode Island 25, Duquesne 20
Rhode Island jumped out fast, then withstood a rally attempt by the visiting Dukes to take the first set. Brynne Wright had five kills early, helping the Rams establish a 17-10 lead. Duquesne began to chip away, scoring five straight to close within 17-15, but URI thwarted the comeback. Wright had a sixth kill and a service ace to push the lead back to 21-17, and the teams traded points from there until a Gabrielle Shilling kill ended the set.

Set Two – Rhode Island 25, Duquesne 15
A clean offensive attack paved the way for an easy second set for Rhode Island. The Rams hit .722 as a team, recording 13 kills with no errors in 18 total attacks. Brynne Wright again led the attack with five kills in the set, while Gabrielle Shilling added three and Samantha Blahut and Lauren Nelson had two each. The Rams also recorded four service aces in the frame.

Set Three – Duquesne 25, Rhode Island 23
A set of momentum swings saw Duquesne jump out to a 6-2 lead before Rhody ran off six straight points behind three blocks and a kill from Gabrielle Shilling. URI appeared to establish control with a three-point spurt capped by a Brynne Wright kill made the score 14-10. The Dukes came back with a 6-2 run to knot the score at 16-16. From there, neither side led by more than one point again until a URI attack error gave the Dukes set point at 24-22. Duquesne gave back one set point with an attack error of its own, but a block by Anita Parrott and Hailey Poling clinched the set for the Dukes and squashed any hopes of an early night for the Alumni/Family Weekend crowd.

Set Four – Rhode Island 25, Duquesne 22
Teasing a threat of going to five sets, Rhode Island went on a late tear in the fourth. Down 20-16 following a kill by Duquesne's Carsyn Henschen, Rhody went on a 6-0 run and took nine of the final 11 points overall to finish the match. Gabrielle Shilling and Lauren Nelson combined for five kills during the key stretch to clinch the win.
 
Inside the Box Score

• With the win Rhode Island snapped a 10-match losing streak and picked up its first Atlantic 10 win of the season.
• The Rams improved to 5-17 overall and 1-8 in conference play, while Duquesne fell to 4-17 overall and 1-8 in the A-10.
• Brynne Wright led three Rams in double figures with 16 kills. Lauren Nelson added 13 while Gabrielle Shilling had 10 kills.
• Shilling had zero attack errors and a robust .588 attack percentage Defensively she had four blocks, two of which were solo.
• Rhody had 14 service aces. Wright led the way with four, while Hannah Blaney had three.
• Blaney had a team-best 14 digs.
• Samantha Blahut had six kills, three blocks and two assists in a solid all-around match.
• Hope Passerello had 37 assists, four kills and three digs.
• Rhode Island hit .451 as a team, committing just 17 errors in 113 total attacks.

Up Next
Rhode Island is back at home next weekend when it hosts Loyola Chicago for two matches. The first is Friday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. followed by a matinee Saturday, Oct. 22 at 4 p.m.