Rhode Island Starters
McCarles, Pinell, Abuto, Vente, Bowman, Rolle, Lamoreaux (L)

Quinnipiac Starters
Tennon, Gunes Y. , Giovagnoni, Brashear, Gunes D. , Giaciomi, Kimsel Moe (L)

How It Happened
Rhode Island (0-1) opened its season with a tightly contested 3-2 (23-25, 25-18, 25-15, 19-25, 15-9) loss to Quinnipiac in the opening match of the UNF Invitational Friday morning. After an early first set victory for the Rams, Quinnipiac (1-0) returned to pick up back-to-back sets. Rhode Island secured the fourth set but ultimately fell in the fifth. 

Set One – Rhode Island 25, Quinnipiac 23
Rhode Island and Quinnipiac traded points for the opening set, as there were 11 ties and four lead changes within the first 18 points. With the score tied 7-7, back-to-back rallies on both ends kept the score within one (11-10). The two teams continued the pattern until a Madi Disu kill sparked the Rams' final push at 23-22. A Quinnipiac attack error allowed Dakota Henry to end the set with the first ace of her career. 

Set Two – Quinnipiac 25, Rhode Island 18
The set began with a 3-0 Quinnipiac lead as the Rams struggled to get going. The Bobcats continued to build their advantage before opening things up with a 7-1 run that put them up 15-7. Quinnipiac's Alexandra Tennon had three kills and a block during the run, from which Rhode Island could not recover.

Set Three – Quinnipiac 25, Rhode Island 15
Kiera McCarles kicked off the third set with her first service ace as a Ram, but the team was unable to capitalize on the momentum. The Bobcats picked up a quick four points and slowly pulled away from there. URI managed to cut the deficit down to four at 14-10 thanks to an attack error, but was unable to overtake Quinnipiac. 

Set Four – Rhode Island  25, Quinnipiac 19
With the match on the line, Rhode Island rose to the occasion in the fourth set. The teams remained in close contention to start off until a pair of Rhody runs put the team ahead, 11-5. The Bobcats later rattled off three-straight kills to trail by just three at 20-17, but a pair of back-to-back kills by Madi Disu re-extended the advantage. Rhody held on from there to send the game into the fifth set. 

Set Five – Quinnipiac 15, Rhode Island 9
Quinnipiac was dominant at the start of the fifth set, jumping out 7-3. Rhody was unable to crawl out of the hole as the Bobcats picked up their final seven points off the attack.  

Inside the Box Score

• Senior Edie Lamoreaux, junior Kiera McCarles and freshman Havyn Rolle all started in their URI debuts. 
• Lamoreaux finished with a game-high 15 digs.
• McCarles dished out 34 assists and had a pair of service aces. 
• Sophomore Madi Disu led the Rams with 17 kills while also contributing on a pair of blocks. 
• Disu, Rolle, freshman Dakota Henry and sophomore Sydney Houchens also added a service ace apiece. 
• Rolle hit .438 in her collegiate debut with eight kills. She also had a solo block and was credited with three digs. 
• Quinnipiac's Ginevra Giovagnoni and Elena Giacomini combined for 40 of the team's 73 kills. The team hit .258. 

Up Next
Rhode Island plays host North Florida at 6 p.m. in its second match of the day. The match will stream on the ESPN+ network.