Rhode Island Starters
Wagner, Wright, Paulette, Gage, Shilling, Butler, Blaney
 
Saint Louis Starters
Richardson, Tziarli, Henken, Aupperle, Hill, Mattingly, Rodgers
 
Set One –Rhode Island 25, Saint Louis 20
The Rams and Billikens played a tight first set that was tied on 12 different occasions. With Rhody on top 10-7, Saint Louis scored four straight points to pull ahead 11-10. From there, the score was tied at 11-11, 12-12, 13-13, 14-14, 15-15, 16-16 and 17-17. A 4-0 Rhody run then put the Rams ahead for good as SLU was unable to cut the deficit to less than three. For the set, SLU had a .000 hitting percentage, recording 11 kills and 11 errors on 39 total attacks.

Set Two – Saint Louis 25, Rhode Island 17
SLU's offense was much more effective in the second set as the Billikens hit at a .424 clip, registering 16 kills with just two attack errors. Saint Louis also converted 72 percent (13-18) of its sideout opportunities, taking a 7-3 lead early on and never letting Rhody establish any sort of rhythm. The Rams scored consecutive points just three times, the last coming at 23-15 and 23-16. SLU then claimed two of the next three points to coast to the 25-17 win.

Set Three – Rhode Island 25, Saint Louis13
The third set was all Rhode Island as the Rams opened on a 12-4 tear and never looked back. Brynne Wright served for five straight points – two of which came on aces – as the Rams pushed their advantage to 20-9. SLU scored four of the next five, but it was too little, too late as Rhody eased its way to the 25-13 victory.
 
Set Four – Saint Louis 25, Rhode Island 17
It was a back-and-forth battle early on in the fourth set, but a 9-0 run gave the Billikens a 16-9 cushion midway through. URI got within four (17-13) after consecutive kills by Claire Wagner, but SLU held Rhody to .000 hitting percentage (10 kills, 10 errors) overall. Saint Louis also scored on 10 of its 14 sideout chances (77%) to win the set and even the match at 2-2.
 
Set Five – Saint Louis 15, Rhode Island 9
For the second day in a row, Saint Louis dug its way out of a 2-1 hole and claimed the decisive fifth set. This time, the Billikens did so by never trailing in the final set, thanks to a total team effort. SLU had six kills in the set – one each from six different players. Emily Henken also served up three straight aces, the last of which gave Saint Louis a 9-5 lead. It was all Billikens from there as the visitors used a 15-9 victory to win the match three sets to two.

Inside the Box Score

• Senior Claire Wagner led all players with 23 kills. She also had seven digs, two aces, one block and one assist.
• Junior Brynne Wright finished with 11 kills, nine digs, three blocks and two aces.
• Grad student Gabrielle Shilling had six kills and four blocks, two of which were solos.
• Grad student Mariah Paulette recorded four kills, two blocks, one dig and one assist.
• Freshman Karlee Pinell added five kills and two digs.
• Sophomore Katie Butler finished with 41 assists, nine digs, four kills, two aces and two blocks.
• Sophomore Hannah Blaney recorded a team-high 20 digs. She also had five assists and one service ace.
• Freshman Ryleigh Powers added three digs and two assists for the Rams.

Up Next
Rhode Island is back in action next weekend at VCU. The Rams will play at 6 p.m. on Friday and 5 p.m. on Saturday.