Rhode Island Starters
Houchens, Owens, McCarles, Abuto, Rolle, Bowman, Lamoreaux (L)

Loyola Chicago Starters
Borum, Ajanovic, Maley, Remmes, Cvitkovic, DeBlieck, Lovett (L)

How it Happened
Rhode Island fought back from a pair of one-set deficits, but a fifth-set surge by Loyola Chicago was too much for URI. The Rams (5-11, 0-3 Atlantic 10) fell 3-2 (25-14, 22-25, 25-23, 23-25, 15-8) Friday night.

Set One – Loyola Chicago 25, Rhode Island 14
The visiting Ramblers (8-7, 3-1 A-10) had their offense working early, as eight players recorded at least one kill in the opening set. Loyola Chicago had 16 kills with just four errors, with Kaitlyn Burke and Kate Maley leading the way with three kills each. Rhode Island, by contract, managed just four kills in the opening set, as Loyola Chicago never trailed.

Set Two – Rhode Island 25, Loyola Chicago 22
Loyola Chicago continued the momentum early, scoring four of the first five points of the set. The time Rhode Island fought back, chipping away until a Sydney Houchens kills tied the set at 9-9. A 3-0 Rambler run was met by Rhody's own 3-0 run. With the score tied 12-12, the teams were not separated by more than a point until Rhode Island got a block from Chloe Abuto and Aerin Bowman followed by a Kiera McCarles ace to pull ahead 21-19. URI never relinquished the lead, eventually knotting the match after a Havyn Rolle kill and Dakota Henry service ace closed out the set.

Set Three – Loyola Chicago 25, Rhode Island 23
The third set was a back-and-forth thriller, with neither side leading by more than two points throughout. There were 19 ties and five lead changes. The teams combined for 32 kills with just 11 attack errors in a quality set of play by both sides.

Set Four – Rhode Island 25, Loyola Chicago 23
Needing the set to stay alive, Rhode Island was able to grind it out after nearly letting a comfortable lead slip away. A long rally led to a Loyola Chicago attack error that made the score 23-19 in favor of URI. However, the Ramblers scored four straight points to tie the score. Rhody showed poise, getting a kill from Aerin Bowman to set up match point before a Rambler attack error secured the set and set up the decisive fifth.

Set Five – Loyola Chicago 15, Rhode Island 8
Aerin Bowman started the set with a kill, but it was all Loyola Chicago from there. A 9-1 run that featured three Kate Maley kills put the visitors ahead by seven points. From there, the Ramblers stayed in control, eventually ending the match with an Avery DeBlieck kill.

Inside the Box Score

• Aerin Bowman was one shy of her career-high, leading Rhode Island with 15 kills.
• Havyn Rolle hit a team-high .370, collecting 13 kills with just three errors to go with three blocks.
• The Rams recorded 15 blocks, with Chloe Abuto (7), Aerin Bowman (5) and Megan Disu (4) leading the effort.
• Edie Lamoreaux had 10 digs to help the defense.
• Setters Kiera McCarles (26) and Katie Butler (19) combined for 45 of URI's 49 asssits.
• The Rams hit .220 as a team, getting 49 kills with 20 errors.
• This was already Rhode Island's fourth five-set match of the season, in which URI is 2-2. Last season, the Rams made it to the fifth set just three times.

Up Next
Rhode Island and Loyola Chicago meet against Saturday at 2 p.m. The match will stream on ESPN+.