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

Bryant Starters
Hunt, Castro, Talmadge, Camacho, Ugolini, Lapour, Barron (L)

How It Happened
The two-headed monster of Aubrey Lapour and Arianna Ugolini was too much for Rhode Island to handle, as the Rams fell at Bryant 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-22) Friday afternoon. Lapour and Ugolini each had 19 kills as the Bulldogs (4-1) held off URI (0-4) in the opening match of the Ocean State Cup.

Set One – Rhode Island 25, Bryant 21
The duo of Havyn Rolle and Madi Disu sparked the Rams early. With Rhody trailing 13-10, Disu recorded three kills in a span of six points to get the Rams ahead, 15-14. Then it was Rolle's turn to heat up, as she recorded three kills as part of a 7-2 Rhody run that established a 22-17 lead. Emma Vente came up with a kill to set up set points for the Rams, and after two Aubrey Lapour kills for Bryant, a service error by the Bulldogs ended the opening frame.
 
Set Two – Bryant 25, Rhode Island 21
Bryant responded early in the second set with an 8-3 start that included two Aubrey Lapour kills. Lapour dominated the set, finishing the frame with seven kills. Rhode Island's lone lead in the frame was 1-0 following a Kiera McCarles ace on the opening point.

Set Three – Bryant 25, Rhode Island 22
The third set was tied 12-12 before Bryant slowly established control. Neither side scored more than two consecutive points over the last 23 rallies of the set. However, Bryant led from 13-12 on, finally putting the set away with an Arianna Ugolini kill.

Set Four – Bryant 25, Rhode Island 22
Needing to take the set in order to extend the match, Rhode Island was hot out of the gate in the fourth. A 5-0 run that included back-to-back Edie Lamoreaux aces put the Rams in front 15-9 as URI appeared poised to square things up. However, an 8-0 run by Bryant put the hosts up 17-15. The teams traded points and the match was tied at 18-18, 19-19, 20-20 and 21-21 as the tension mounted. A Brookelyn Talmadge kill followed by an ace from Claudia Camacho-Castro gave the Bulldogs slight breathing room at 23-21. Kills by Nina Gavin and Aubrey Lapour clinched the win for Bryant.

Inside the Box Score

• Freshman Havyn Rolle had a career-high 13 kills with just two errors, her first time in double figures on the attack.
• She had topped her previous high of eight by the end of the second set.
• Outside hitter Madi Disu led Rhode Island with 16 kills to go with five digs.
• Setter Kiera McCarles had a season-high 41 assists and was a key reason the team hit a season-high .233 as a team.
• Libero Edie Lamoreaux had 14 digs, three assists and three of URI's nine aces.
• Rhody had nine aces and just four service errors.
• It was the first time in four matches the team had better than a 1:1 ratio.
• Middle blocker Chloe Abuto had a season-high six kills and provided five of the team's 16 block assists.
• Bryant head coach Theresa Garlacy earned the 600 th win of her career.

Up Next
Rhode Island plays twice on Sept. 7 at the Ocean State Cup. The Rams play Providence at 10 a.m. and Brown at 4 p.m. Both of those matches will stream on AmericaEast.tv.