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

Saint Louis Starters
Gokcen, Lyon, Brus, Rice, Luckett, Jansen, Rodgers (L)

How it Happened
Sophomore Megan Disu matched her career high with 14 kills to lead Rhode Island (8-15, 3-7 Atlantic 10) as it knocked off Saint Louis (8-14, 3-7 A-10) in four sets, 27-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21 Thursday night.

Set One – Rhode Island 27, Saint Louis 25
Rhody led 18-17 following a service error, but Saint Louis pulled ahead 20-18 with three straight points. URI responded with a block by Havyn Rolle and Sydney Houchens, followed by a solo block for Houchens to tie the score. The Billikens moved up 22-20 with kills from Trinity Luckett and Tea Kalajdzic. Another Kalajdzic kill made it 23-21, but a SLU service error made it a one-point game. Saint Louis called timeout to recollect, and a Rhody attack error set up two set points. Megan Disu delivered a kill for the Rams to again pull them within one at 24-23. Following another SLU timeout, Dakota Henry pulled Rhody even with a service ace. Another Disu kill gave Rhode Island a set point, until a Delaney Rice kill tied the match again at 25-25. Disu's fifth kill of the set gave Rhody another set point as Katie Butler delivered URI's fourth ace of the night to seal the first set.

Set Two – Saint Louis 25, Rhode Island 22
Saint Louis opened the second set with a 6-2 run to force an early timeout by Rhode Island. URI managed to tie the score at 9-9 following a Havyn Rolle ace, until a 8-2 Billikens run gave the visitors a commanding 17-11 lead. Saint Louis was up 22-17 before URI used a 5-1 surge to pull within a point at 23-22. This time the Rams could not complete the rally, as a kill by Irmak Gokcen and a URI attack error evened the match.

Set Three – Rhode Island 25, Saint Louis 23
The critical third set had some wild swings late in the set. A solo block by Madi Disu put the Rams in front 20-16, but Saint Louis used a 7-1 run to pull ahead 23-21. Following a URI timeout, kills by Aerin Bowman and Megan Disu tied the score. Kiera McCarles delivered an ace to set up the set point, and Megan Disu and Chloe Abuto combined for a block to put Rhode Island ahead 2-1 in sets.

Set Four – Rhode Island 25, Saint Louis 21
Rhody closed out strong, using a late 4-1 run to create the cushion they needed to clinch the match. With the score tied 16-16, a pair of Megan Disu kills keyed the run. From there, the Rhode Island lead never dipped below two points again. With three match points at 24-21, Madi Disu clinched the win as the Rams snapped a three-match losing streak.

Inside the Box Score

• Rhode Island picked up its third Atlantic 10 win, the team's most since 2021.
• Sophomore Megan Disu matched her career high with 14 kills. She had a team-best .542, committing just one attack error in 24 attempts.
• Disu has recorded 27 kills over her last two matches.
• Redshirt junior Aerin Bowman led the team with 15 kills.
• The Rams had 14 total blocks, giving them 226.5 for the season. URI is just 14 shy of the rally-point era single-season record of 240.5 set back in 2017.
• Sophomore Chloe Abuto led the team with six blocks. She has 99 on the season, tying the eighth-highest single season total since the start of the rally point era in 2001.
• Redshirt junior Emma Vente and sophomore Madi Disu each had seven kills.
• Vente also had four digs and four blocks, while Disu added six digs.
• Freshman Dakota Henry had 15 digs and three service aces.
• Rhode Island had 12 service aces, the sixth time this season the team has recorded double figures.
• With 163 service aces, the Rams have the fifth-highest single-season total since the rally point era began.

Up Next
Rhode Island and Saint Louis meet again on Friday evening at 6 p.m. The match will stream on ESPN+.