Rhode Island Starters
Ma. Disu, Houchens, McCarles, Abuto, Rolle, Bowman, Lamoreaux (L), Henry (L)

Duquesne Starters
Wilmot, Helm, Henschen, Drelling, Hobson, Robertson, Grimm (L)

How it Happened
Rhode Island (7-12, 2-4 Atlantic 10) staged a major rally in the fifth set to pull out a thriller over Duquesne (11-7, 2-4 A-10), beating the Dukes 3-2 (25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 18-25, 16-14) Saturday night. The victory marked the first time since 2020 that the Rams have won consecutive Atlantic 10 matches.

Set One – Rhode Island 25, Duquesne 22
Rhode Island took advantage of a slow start for Duquesne. The Rams scored the first six points of the match, thanks in large part to four Duke attack errors. URI kept the visitors at an arm's length the rest of the set, never letting Duquesne get closer than two points away. Sydney Houchens and Aerin Bowman combined for nine kills, and URI had five blocks in the set. A block by Madi Disu and Erika Bracey closed out the set for Rhody.

Set Two – Rhode Island 25, Duquesne 22
Another fast start helped Rhode Island to an early 6-1 lead. This time, Duquesne managed to get back within one point on two occasions, once at 12-11 and again at 16-15, but URI had an answer each time. At 16-15, Rhody ran off four straight points behind kills from Havyn Rolle and Erika Bracey and a Catalina Hendricks ace to push the lead to 20-15. The teams traded points, but Bracey's fourth kill of the set gave URI seven set points at 24-17. Duquesne managed to fight off five of the points, but a Madi Disu kill ended any comeback hopes and gave Rhode Island a 2-0 lead.

Set Three – Duquesne 25, Rhode Island 23
It was the visitors who started hot in the third, taking six of the first seven points. The Rams battled all the way back and took a late lead, but the Dukes rallied and extended the match. Trailing 21-19, Rhody got a kill from Madi Disu and then three straight kills by Aerin Bowman to move in front, 23-21. However, Duquesne ended the set on a 4-0 run behind kills from Emerson Schrom, Ariel Helm and Avery Hobson.

Set Four – Duquesne 25, Rhode Island 18
Unlike the first three sets, the fourth stanza was close throughout, with Duquesne holding a slight 15-14 lead after a Madi Disu kill for URI. However, the Dukes broke things open with a 5-0 run that made the score 20-14 following back-to-back aces by Avery Hobson. Rhody could not get closer than four the rest of the way, and an Emerson Schrom kill set up the deciding fifth set.

Set Five – Rhode Island 16, Duquesne 14
Things did not look good for Rhode Island when Duquesne opened the fifth set with a 9-2 run. A modest 3-1 spurt helped get the Rams within five at 10-5, but a Carsyn Henschen kill put the Dukes back in front by six points, 11-5. An Erika Bracey kill gave Rhody the serve trailing 11-6, and Madi Disu took over from there. Three Disu service aces sparked a 5-0 run that also included a pair of Emma Vente kills, tying the set at 11-11. The teams traded the next two points, but Duquesne used a block and URI attack error to get two match points at 14-12. Rhode Island bore down. After a Duquesne attack error, Aerin Bowman tied the score with a kill. Another Duquesne attack error set up match point, and Kiera McCarles capped the rally with her third service ace of the night.

Inside the Box Score

• Rhode Island is now 3-2 in five-set matches.
• Junior Aerin Bowman led the team with 14 kills to go with eight blocks and three digs.
• Rhode Island had a season-high 19 service aces, including seven by sophomore Madi Disu.
• Disu's seven aces were the most ever by a Ram in an Atlantic 10 match. She also tied the third most in a match in program history.
• Disu also had 10 kills and eight digs.
• Sophomore Catalina Hendricks also set a career high with five aces.
• Sophomore Sydney Houchens had a season-high eight kills with just one error. She also had 10 digs and one ace.
• She was one shy of her career high of nine kills, which she recorded against Rhode Island last season while playing for VCU.
• Freshman Erika Bracey had the best match of her young career, setting personal bests in kills (8), digs (5) and blocks (4).
• The Rams had 14 total blocks, the eighth time this season Rhody has reached double digits.
• Senior libero Edie Lamoreaux had 16 digs.

Up Next
Rhode Island and Duquesne are back at it Sunday at 1 p.m. The match will stream on ESPN+.