Le Moyne Starters (0-4)
Rhodes, Ezgi Tasdelen, Dembroski, LaRuffa, Gerken, Anstett, Katz
Rhode Island Starters (1-4)
Ma. Disu, Me. Disu, Owens, Abuto, Blast, Butler, Blaney
How it Happened
The Rams picked up their first win of the 2023 season on Saturday afternoon, defeating Le Moyne 3-1 in front of a home crowd at Keaney Gymnasium.
Set One - Rhode Island 25, Le Moyne 7
The Rams kicked off the match with a thrilling 9-0 run to distance themselves from the Dolphins.
Hannah Blaney had a pair of service aces in the opening spree, helping Rhode Island to its total of five in the first set. Rhody recorded 14 of its points off attacks, highlighted by rookie
Madi Disu's six-kill effort at the net.
Set Two - Le Moyne 25, Rhode Island 19
The second set was tightly-contested at the start. Though the Dolphins recorded the first three points, Rhode Island answered back and took its first lead at 8-7 thanks to a Le Moyne attack error. The teams continued the back-and-forth action down the stretch until a service ace by Blaney was followed by a Rhody attack error that forced head coach
Angel Agu to call a timeout with the score knotted up at 18-18. Le Moyne maintained momentum out of the break, putting five quick points to eventually take the set.
Set Three - Rhode Island 25, Le Moyne 23
Rhode Island was in control in the beginning of the third set and jumped out to a 10-3 lead. Though the Rams continued to maintain the advantage, the visiting team chipped away at the deficit and worked its way down to just a one-point disadvantage at 20-19 thanks to a service ace. While Rhody initially struggled to pull away, allowing the Dolphins to tie things up at 20-20 and again at 21-21, a pair of blocks and a kill by
Madi Disu secured the set for the Rams.
Set Four - Rhode Island 25, Le Moyne 20
The fourth set was close throughout its entirety, as the largest difference in scoring occurred when a Karlee Pinnell kill put the Rams up 7-3. By the time the score reached 20-20, the teams had already been tied seven different times. The Dolphins, who had faltered a 20-19 lead, called a timeout when an attack error knotted things up. Rhode Island put the pressure on after the reprieve, utilizing a pair of kills from
Andrea Owens to reach match point before
Aerin Bowman smoked a ball for game point.
Inside the Box Score
- Freshman Madi Disu matched a career-best 12 kills, her second time in double digits.
- Junior Katie Butler racked up 20 assists and eight digs.
- Junior Hannah Blaney posted a season-best four service aces and a game-high 17 digs.
- She went over 500 career digs during the match
- Freshman Chloe Abuto contributed five blocks, while Disu was credited with the team's lone solo stop.
- Redshirt sophomore Andrea Owens had a season-high eight kills to go with eight digs.
- Le Moyne committed 13 service errors.
- In the opening set, the Rams had 14 kills with no errors in 18 total attacks for a .778 team hitting percentage.
Up Next
Rhode Island will continue its Saturday action at Keaney Gymnasium with a 6 p.m. match against Brown.
