Rhode Island Starters
Powers, Ma. Disu, Me. Disu, Shilling, Blahut, Butler, Blaney

Air Force Starters
Scires, Bible, Reinkensmeyer, Tschuor, Harvey, Russ, Suan
 
How It Happened
Rhode Island (0-1) could not slow down the Air Force attack, nor could it sustain momentum with its own offense as it fell to the Falcons 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-23) Friday night.

Air Force (1-0) controlled tempo from the start, scoring six of the first eight points of the match. With 15 kills and four service aces in the opening set, the Falcons kept the pressure on the Rams early. URI, on the other hand, had six kills and six attack errors in 31 attempts, hitting .000 as a team in the opening set. The second set was more of the same, as Air Force never trailed in the set, cruising to a 2-0 lead in sets.

With their backs against the wall, the Rams managed to stay even with the hosts through the first 14 points of the third set. Kills from Andrea Owens and Megan Disu early helped Rhody find itself tied 7-7 before Air Force ran off four straight points to establish an 11-7 lead.

Rhody put together its best stretch of the night with six straight points. Madi Disu and Megan Disu both had a kill and a block assist during the run, while Gabrielle Shilling had a pair of block assists as URI took a 13-11 lead to force an Air Force timeout. Out of the timeout, Madi Disu added another kill for a three-point edge before Ella Tschuor delivered a kill to stop the run.

From there, it was all Air Force. The Falcons used an 8-2 run to pull in front 19-16 and force URI to use a timeout. Owens came up with a kill to get Rhody within two points, but Joi Harvey's third block of the match made sure the momentum was short lived. The teams traded points until a URI service error set up three match points for Air Force at 24-21. Rhody got a block from Megan Disu and Shilling, followed by an Air Force Attack error to stave off two match points. However, another service error brought the match to an end.
 
Inside the Box Score

• The teams combined for 15 service errors. Rhode Island had eight and Air Force had seven.
• Rhode Island hit .054 as a team, recording 27 kills and 22 attack errors.
• Freshmen Made Disu and Megan Disu both started in the collegiate debuts for the Rams, combining for 11 kills, seven digs and four blocks.
• Redshirt sophomore Emma Vente added five kills.
• Graduate student Gabrille Shilling led the team with five blocks assists to go with four kills.
• Freshman Catalina Hendricks had five assists and five digs in her collegiate debut.

Up Next
Rhode Island plays twice on Saturday to close out the Amy Svoboda Memorial. The Rams play UT Arlington at 12 p.m. EST and then in-state rival Bryant at 7 p.m. EST. Both matches will stream on the Mountain West Network.