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

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

How it Happened
Duquesne pulled away from Rhode Island in both the third and fourth sets to earn a split of the weekend series, handing the Rams a 3-1 (26-24, 20-25, 25-15, 25-16) defeat Sunday afternoon.

After committing just six attack errors in the first two sets, Rhode Island (7-13, 2-5 Atlantic 10) had 19 over the final two sets. The top blocking team in the Atlantic 10, Duquesne (12-7, 3-4 A-10) had 10 over the final three sets after recording nine in the opening set.

Set One – Duquesne 26, Rhode Island 24
Rhode Island had two set points after an Erika Bracey kill put the Rams ahead 24-22. However, the Dukes ran off four straight points, getting kills from Elizabeth Drelling, Avery Hobson and Jordan Roberton sandwiched around a Rhody attack error to take the opening set.

Set Two – Rhode Island 25, Duquesne 20
Holding a slight 16-15 lead, Rhode Island took over late in the second set. A 4-1 run that included a block by Havyn Rolle and Sydney Houchens and another by Rolle and Aerin Bowman opened a 20-16 lead. Duquesne got within three points at 23-20, but a Chloe Abuto kill and a Duke attack error tied the match.

Set Three – Duquesne 25, Rhode Island 15
A big Duquesne run midway through the set was too much for Rhode Island to overcome. Tied at 13-13, Duquesne used a 6-1 run to pull ahead 19-14. Rhode Island was never able to recover, and the Dukes cruised to a 25-15 score that gave the visitors a 2-1 set advantage.

Set Four – Duquesne 25, Rhode Island 16
Rhode Island got within four points at 18-14 following back-to-back aces by Dakota Henry, but Duquesne ended any thoughts of a rally. The Dukes scored seven of the nine points of the match to secure the road win.

Inside the Box Score

• Rhode Island hit .371 as a team in the opening set, getting 14 kills with just one attack error.
• The success continued in the second set with a .242 attack percentage, but the Rams were in the negative in the final two sets, hitting -.115 and -..062 in the third and fourth sets.
• Freshmen Erika Bracey and Havyn Rolle led the team with 10 kills each. It was a career high for Bracey.
• Rolle also had six blocks, including a solo effort.
• Freshman Dakota Henry had six service aces and three digs.
• Senior Edie Lamoreaux had 12 digs.
• The Rams again reached double digits in blocks, finishing with 11.
• Sophomore Chloe Abuto had five blocks, including three solo blocks.
• The last Ram with three solo blocks in a match was Gillian Klise against George Washington in 2021.

Up Next
Rhode Island visits George Mason for two matches later in the week. The teams play Friday, Oct. 18 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 19 at 4 p.m.