Rhode Island Starters
Wagner, Wright, Paulette, Shilling, Pinell, Butler, Blaney
 
Marist Starters
White, Fox, van der Merwe, Heller, Newblatt, Zolg, Owens
 
Set One – Rhode Island 25, Marist 19
Rhody and Marist traded the first 12 points before a Mariah Paulette service ace capped a 3-0 push that gave the Rams the lead for good. The Red Foxes hung close but were never able to cut the deficit to fewer than two points. Leading 20-18, the Rams got a kill from Gabrielle Shilling and went on to capitalize on four Marist errors to win the set 25-19.

Set Two – Rhode Island 26, Marist 24
The second set was a battle that featured three lead changes and 11 ties. Marist claimed the first four points and remained in control until a 6-2 run gave Rhode Island a 16-14 advantage. The Red Foxes took six of the next 10 points however, evening the score once again, this time at 20-20. Two kills and a service ace – all from Claire Wagner – later put URI up 23-21 before back-to-back-to-back Marist points gave the visitors set point at 24-23. Rhody fended off the threat however, tying the score on a service error before pulling ahead 25-24 on a kill by Brynne Wright. An attack error by the Red Foxes then gave Rhode Island the 26-24 victory.
 
Set Three – Marist 25, Rhode Island 23
The third set was much like the second with neither team leading by more than three until five straight points by the Red Foxes gave Marist a 17-11 edge. Rhody battled its way back, eventually leveling things at 22-22 after consecutive aces from Hannah Blaney, but the Red Foxes claimed three of the next four points to avoid the sweep.
 
Set Four – Marist 25, Rhode Island 21
Both Rhody and Marist had a hitting percentage above .300 in the fourth set, as each team combined for just five attack errors. Marist scored 17 of its 25 points on kills while Rhody collected 14 kills of its own. Wagner showed no signs of tiring as seven of her team high 26 kills came in the fourth set, and Shilling added a trio of blocks. However Marist's Sasha van der Merwe registered 10 kills on 16 swings and had three blocks of her own to lead the Red Foxes to the match-tying win.
 
Set Five – Rhode Island 15, Marist 12
Rhode Island finished things off with a bang, turning in its best hitting percentage (.407) in the fifth set. The Rams combined for 12 kills and had just one error. With the score tied at 10-10, URI closed on a 5-2 run, thanks in part to kills from Shilling (1), Wright (1) and Wagner (2).
 
Inside the Box Score

• Overall, Rhody and Marist traded the lead 13 times and tied the score on 33 separate occasions.
• Senior Claire Wagner led Rhode Island with a season-high 26 kills. She narrowly missed the double-double as she also had nine digs, two aces and a pair of blocks.
• Junior Brynne Wright recorded 15 kills and 11 digs – both season highs – as well as three assists, two blocks and one service ace.
• Grad student Gabrielle Shilling was the third Ram with double-digit kills, registering 11 along with a team-high six blocks. She ended the match with an impressive .474 hitting percentage, recording just two errors on 19 total attacks.
• Sophomore Katie Butler filled the stat sheet with 50 assists, four kills, four digs, four blocks and one service ace.
• Sophomore Hannah Blaney had a team-best 18 digs and three service aces.
• Senior Adel Gage added 11 digs and one ace.
• Freshman Karlee Pinell recorded three blocks, including the first solo of her career. She also had two kills and a pair of digs.

Up Next
The Rams return to action against LIU, Saturday at 11 a.m.