Rhode Island Starters
Houchens, Tombline, Abuto, Rolle, Vente, Jonick, Henry (L)

Fordham Starters
Brown, Sweeney, Oliveira, Holderied, Woodrow Fernadez (L), Ozaslan (L)

How it Happened
Rhode Island (4-20, 1-11 Atlantic 10) won its first conference match of the season by putting together its best all-around match of the season. Rhody knocked off Fordham (7-15, 1-11 A-10) 15-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-22 Wednesday evening.

URI piled up 51 kills, 71 digs and 15 blocks as it was highly effective in all phases of the game.

Set One - Fordham 25, Rhode Island 15
Fordham's Audrey Brown had four kills and Mila Micunavic added three as Fordham cruised in the opening set. Rhode Island managed six blocks on the defensive side of the net, but URI managed just six kills while committing 10 attack errors.

Set Two - Rhode Island 25, Fordham 14
The second set was all Rhode Island. The hosts hit .448 as a team, recording 15 kills with just two errors in 29 attacks. Ema Stermenska dished out eight assists and Kiera McCarles added five, spreading the wealth around the Rhody attack. The defense limited Fordham to a .083 attack percentage. Erika Bracey had three kills and three blocks in the set.

Set Three - Rhode Island 25, Fordham 22
It was a back-and-forth set that featured several long rallies. There were six ties and three lead changes as the teams traded momentum swings. Aerin Bowman and Erika Bracey combined for 10 kills and just one error to lead the attack. Bowman clinched the set with her sixth kill of the set.

Set Four - Rhode Island 25, Fordham 22
Fordham threatened to extend the match to a fifth set when a block by Sophia Oliveira and Erynn Sweeney put the visitors ahead 20-16. However, Rhode Island stormed back with a 9-1 run. The defense at the net by Chloe Abuto and Aerin Bowman keyed the run, as they combined for three blocks to stymie the Fordham attack. A kill by Emma Vente ended the match.

Inside the Box Score

• Rhode Island had 71 digs in just four sets. Dakota Henry had a career-high 25 digs, while Ema Stermenska added 11 and Sydney Houchens had 10.
• It was the most digs for URI in 46 matches, dating back to 84 against NIU in a five-set win last season.
• Rhody also had 15 blocks as a team.
• Chloe Abuto had 10 block assists, the third time in her career she has reached 10 in a match. No other player has done so more than once for Rhode Island.
• Aerin Bowman led the team with 13 kills to go with seven block assists.
• Erika Bracey added 10 kills while hitting .400 on the night. She had four block assists.
• Havyn Rolle had nine kills and four block assists.
• Setters Ema Stermenska and Kiera McCarles had the offense running smoothly. Stermenska had a double-double with 19 assists and 11 digs, while McCarles had 22 assists and five digs.
• Sydney Houchens had seven kills to go with her 10 digs.
• The win snapped a 12-match losing streak for URI.

Up Next
Rhode Island welcomes George Mason to Keaney Gym for a match Wednesday, Oct. 29. The match begins at 5 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.