Rhode Island Starters
Ma. Disu, McCarles, Pinell, Abuto, Vente, Bowman, Lamoreaux (L)

Mercer Starters
Henry, Phillips, Martin, Padilla, Bumpers, Johnson, Davis (L)

How It Happened
Mercer controlled play from the start and swept Rhode Island 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-11) to close out URI's appearance at the UNF Invitational Saturday. Rhody struggled on the day, posting a -.024 hitting percentage as a team.

Set One – Mercer 25, Rhode Island 19
Rhode Island capitalized on four early attack errors by the Bears squad to open the first set ahead 5-2, however Rhode Island could not keep up the momentum. The Bears picked up a quick four points at 13-12 and held their lead for the remainder. Rhode Island was unable to cut the deficit down as Mercer finished the set with a kill from Gia Padilla and a team block to ice the set.
 
Set Two – Mercer 25, Rhode Island 11
What started as a highly competitive second set quickly fell apart for Rhode Island. The teams were never separated by more than two points through the first 18 rallies. With the score tied at 8-8, a 11-1 run by the Bears opened the gate to a score of 19-9, from which Rhode Island could not salvage.

Set Three – Mercer 25, Rhode Island 11
After Mercer scored the first four points of the set, Rhode Island fought back with four points of its own. However, Mercer scored nine of the next 10 points to establish control. URI made a modest rally with five straight points to close within 15-11 after a Madi Disu kill, but Mercer close things out by scoring the final 11 points of the match.

Inside the Box Score

• Freshman middle blocker Havyn Rolle led Rhode Island with six kills.
• For the tournament, Rolle had 20 kills with just five attack errors over her first three career matches.
• Right side hitter Aerin Bowman was the only other Ram with a positive attack percentage on the day. She had four kills with three errors in 16 swings.
• Outside hitter Madi Disu picked up five kills, one block, and a pair of aces.
• Setter Kiera McCarles dished out 15 assists and picked up her fifth ace of the season.
• Middle blocker Chloe Abuto recorded three blocks, including one solo. She currently leads the team in blocks with eight.
• As a team, the Rams had 20 kills and 22 errors. Mercer had 37 kills with 14 errors as a team. 
• Mercer's Gia Padilla was the lone player for either side to reach double digits in kills. She had 10.
• Mercer had 12 service aces, accounting for 16 percent of its total scoring.

Up Next
Rhode Island will travel to Smithfield, R.I. for the Ocean State Cup, which features all four Division I programs in the state. The Rams play host Bryant at 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6, which will be streamed on ESPN+. The next day, Rhody plays Providence at 10 a.m. and Brown at 4 p.m. Both of those matches will stream on AmericaEast.tv.