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

George Mason Starters
Lott, Colter, Weldon, Gacek, Larkin, Kennedy, Martinez-Robinson (L)

How It Happened
George Mason (9-12, 4-5 Atlantic 10) surged ahead of Rhode Island (7-15, 2-7 Atlantic 10) in the third and fourth sets as they handed the Rams a 3-1 loss (25-19, 21-25, 28-26, 25-16) on Saturday afternoon. The Patriots were dominant throughout, allowing only nine lead changes as they secured their first Atlantic 10 series sweep of the season. 

Set One – George Mason 25, Rhode Island 19
The host Patriots opened the match with a 7-3 run, jumping out of the gate early. A 4-1 Rhode Island rally that featured three Aerin Bowman kills and a George Mason hitting error tied the score at 9-9, but that was as close as Rhode Island got. Back-to-back kills from Bowman at the 20-14 mark brought the Rams within four at 20-16, but the Patriots never let up. Megan Disu was the last Ram to score at 24-19 but a Rhode Island service error clinched the first set for George Mason.

Set Two – Rhode Island 25, George Mason 21
In a highly-contested second set that featured 11 ties and four lead changes, Rhode Island's offense led the way with five Rams recording at least two kills in the set. Rhode Island hit .326 with 18 kills as they held the home team to 14 kills and a .170 hitting percentage. Neither team lead by more than three points until kills from Megan Disu and Emma Vente forced a George Mason timeout at 23-19. Out of the break, a Patriots block and service ace put the home team within two at 23-21, but kills from Emma Vente and Havyn Rolle secured the set for the Rams.

Set Three – George Mason 28, Rhode Island 26
The Patriots were dominant from the start in the third set, building an 8-3 lead after consecutive kills by Olyvia Kennedy. Rhody slowly began to chip away from there but the home team never let up. A Sydney Houchens kill brought the Rams within one at 22-23 mark and a Patriots hitting error forced a George Mason timeout. Out of the break, the Rams scored two out of the next three points as Emma Vente knocked in her fourth kill of the set to give the Rams their first lead at 25-24. The teams traded points from there until 26-26 when a kill from Camille Larkin and a Rhody hitting error secured the third set for the Patriots.

Set Four- George Mason 25, Rhode Island 16
The teams traded points early in the fourth set until the 14-14 mark when a 4-1 Patriots rally expanded the gap for the home team. The Patriots kept their foot on the gas, scoring six consecutive points with the help of three Haley Graetz kills. Rhode Island scored just one more time with an Aerin Bowman kill as Camryn Weldon knocked in the final kill for the Patriots. Rhode Island hit just .088 with eight kills and five errors while the Patriots recorded 17 kills with four errors.

Inside the Box Score

• Megan Disu was one shy of her career-high, leading Rhode Island with 13 kills.
• Red-shirt junior Emma Vente followed with 12 kills and a game-high .478 hitting percentage.
• Junior Aerin Bowman contributed nine kills. 
• Freshman libero Dakota Henry recorded a career-high 23 digs with four assists.
• Freshman Havyn Rolle added eight kills to go with five blocks, including two solo efforts.
• Setter Kiera McCarles dished out 26 assists, with Katie Butler behind with 16.
• Senior Edie Lamoreaux contributed 10 digs.
• As a team, Rhode Island hit .194. George Mason had the advantage with a .228 hitting percentage.
• Rhode Island recorded 51 kills on 21 errors while George Mason recorded 61 kills on 23 errors.
• George Mason had four players reach double-digits in kills; Olyvia Kennedy (15), Haley Graetz (15), Camille Larkin (12), and Ewelina Gacek (11).
• Patriots setter Camryn Weldon dished out 41 assists to carry George Mason's offense.

Up Next
The Rams' will return home to Keaney Gymnasium to continue its conference play with two matches against Saint Louis at 7 p.m Thursday, Oct. 24 and a 6 p.m match on Friday, Oct. 25. Friday's match will be streamed on ESPN+