Rhode Island Starters
Me. Disu, Pinell, Abuto, Rolle, Vente, Butler, Henry (L)

NIU Starters
Grevengoed, Alvin, Atiemo, Hurt, Guvener, Brandt, Hoffmeier (L), Lezon (L)

How It Happened
Showing a determined resilience, Rhode Island (4-5) rallied from a two-set deficit to win its third straight match and fourth in the last five, rallying to beat Northern Illinois 3-2 (21-25, 17-25, 28-26, 25-16, 25-23) Friday.

Set One – Northern Illinois 25, Rhode Island 21
The match was close to start, with the teams trading points through the first 19 rallies. NIU used a 5-1 run to establish a 15-10 lead, forcing the Rams to call timeout. However, the lead stayed between four and seven points until Rhody used four straight blocks by the tandem of Havyn Rolle and Megan Disu to make it 22-20, but NIU scored three of the next four to close out the set. 
 
Set Two – Northern Illinois 25, Rhode Island 17
Northern Illinois kept the momentum going, steadily building its lead until a Charli Atiemo ace put the Huskies ahead 17-10. Rhody was never able to get within six the rest of the set as NIU cruised to a 2-0 set lead.
 
Set Three –, Rhode Island 28, Northern Illinois 26
Rhody jumped out early in the third, moving in front 15-10 after a Catalina Hendricks ace. NIU surged back and moved in front 20-19 with a kill from Ava Grevengoed. Megan Disu tied it at 20-20 with a kill of her own, but back-to-back Charli Atiemo kills gave NIU a 22-20 lead and had things looking bleak for the Rams. NIU had two match points at 24-22, but an NIU attack error and an Emma Vente kill tied the score at 24-24. NIU again had match point after a Grevengoed kill, but Rhody responded with a Sydney Houchens kill, an attack error by NIU and a Megan Disu kill to take the set and extend the match.
 
Set Four – Rhode Island 25, Northern Illinois 16
Rhode Island stayed hot after its comeback in the third set. With Aerin Bowman finding her rhythm, the offense took off. Bowman had five kills with no errors in the set, a major reason the Rams hit .286 in the set. Rhody also forced NIU to a negative attack percentage, forcing 11 errors by the Huskies. It all contributed to URI cruising to the set win and setting up a decisive fifth set. 
 
Set Five – Rhode Island 25, Northern Illinois 23
Rhode Island completed the comeback by rallying to win a highly-competitive set. Trailing 7-4, Rhody used an NIU service error and an Aerin Bowman block to pull within one point at 7-6. The teams traded points until a mini-spurt capped by a Charli Atiemo ace gave NIU a 13-10 advantage. Rhody caught fire and scored four straight points that included blocks by Sydney Houchens with Havyn Rolle and then Rolle with Aerin Bowman. A Rolle kill set up match point for the Rams at 14-13, but a Rylea Alvin kill tied the score again. From there, NIU had six match points and Rhode Island had two of its own, but neither side could finish things off. Finally, with the score tied 23-23, an NIU attack error gave Rhody one more match point, and a Megan Disu kill ended the thriller.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Freshman Havyn Rolle had 12 blocks, which tied the URI rally point-era record for a single match. Since the start of rally point play in 2001, the only other Ram with 12 in a match was Layne Self in 2016 against Manhattan. 
• Rolle added eight kills and six digs.
• Emma Vente continued her stellar weekend, recording her second double-double in a row. She had a team-high 15 kills to go with 10 digs and three blocks. 
• Sydney Houchens had a significant impact off the bench, recording a team-high 15 digs, four kills and three blocks over the final four sets. She also helped settle the team's passing successfully handling 19 of her 20 serve receptions. 
• Megan Disu had an outstanding offensive match, recording a career-best 14 kills to go with five blocks. She had the set clinching-kill in both the third and fifth sets.
• Disu also had the team-high hitting percentage of .286 and kill percentage of .400.
• Katie Butler and Catalina Hendricks combined for 41 assists and 16 digs from the setter spot.
• Butler had a double-double with 24 assists and 11 digs, while came off the bench with 17 assists and five digs.
• URI has won three straight matches for the first time since 2021, when it  beat Merrimack, Morgan State and New Hampshire.
• With the victory, Rhode Island has already matched last season's win total in just nine matches. The Rams were 4-26 in 2023.
• Rhode Island is 2-1 in five-set matches this season. The Rams were just 1-2 in five setters a year ago.

Up Next
Rhode Island will play Stony Brook in its final match of the Art Carmichael Invitational Friday night at 7 p.m. The match will stream on ESPN+.