Rhode Island Starters (3-16, 0-7 Atlantic 10)
Disu, Owens, Shilling, Passerello, Blahut, Bowman, Blaney (L)

Davidson Starters (12-5, 4-3 Atlantic 10)
Nguyen, Slusser, Decker, Hummel, Omonije, Davis, Brady  (L)

How It Happened
After three evenly played sets, Davidson pulled away early in the fourth set and used the run to hand Rhode Island a 3-1 (26-24, 21-25, 25-19, 25-13) defeat Sunday.

Set One - Davidson 26, Rhode Island 24
A furious rally by Rhode Island saw the Rams stave off seven straight set points to go from down 24-17 to tied. The run featured four block assists by Samantha Blahut, who combined with Madi Disu twice and Katie Butler and Aerin Bowman once apiece. A Bowman kill knotted the score, but Davidson regrouped behind kills from Isabel Decker and Anna Withee to take the set.

Set Two – Rhode Island 25, Davidson 21
Rhody carried the momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 16-7 led following a 5-0 run that included two Emma Vente kills, two Davidson attack errors and a Wildcat ball handling error. The Ram lead never got below four points as URI stayed in control throughout, closing out the set with a Gabrielle Shilling kill to even the match.

Set Three – Davidson 25, Rhode Island 19
The pivotal third set was tightly contested, with URI pulling within one point at 16-15 following a block by Samantha Blahut and Megan Disu. Davidson scored three straight points to create a 19-15 cushion, and the teams alternated for the next seven points. With the Wildcats ahead 22-19, a block by Kayla Davis and Anna Withee, a URI attack error and a kill by Elena Garcia-Guerrios put the visitors up, two sets to one.

Set Four – Davidson 25, Rhode Island 13
Davidson scored the first seven points of the fourth set, getting three blocks, two services aces and forcing two Rhody attack errors to build the early advantage. The Rams were unable to climb out of the hole, and the deficit remained four points or more for the remainder of the set as the Wildcats coasted down the stretch.

Inside the Box Score

• Rhode Island had 16 blocks on the day, its second-highest total of the season.
• Redshirt junior Samantha Blahut and sophomore Aerin Bowman tied for the team lead with eight kills for Rhode Island.
• Blahut also matched her season high with eight blocks.
• Graduate student Gabrielle Shilling had seven kills and eight block assists.
• Freshman Megan Disu contributed six kills.
• Junior Katie Butler nearly had a double-double, notching 11 assists and eight digs.
• Junior Hannah Blaney led the Rams with 16 digs, while freshman Madi Disu added 12.
• Sophomore Hope Passerello had 23 assists.

Up Next
Rhode Island is off until Saturday, Oct. 14 when it welcomes VCU to Keaney Gymnasium for the first of two weekend matches. The teams will play Saturday at 6 p.m. and then again Sunday at 3 p.m.