Rhode Island Starters
Houchens, McCarles, Abuto, Rolle, Vente, Bowman, Henry (L)

George Mason Starters
Graetz, Colter, Booker, Thompson, Cheney, Brown, Martinez-Robinson (L)

How it Happened
Rhode Island (4-21, 1-12 Atlantic 10) and George Mason (15-9, 8-5 A-10) engaged in a wild back-and-forth thriller that went five sets. In the end, the visiting Patriots pulled it out, winning 22-25, 25-18, 26-24, 21-25, 15-11 Saturday night,  

Set One - Rhode Island 25, George Mason 22
Trailing 22-21, Rhode Island tied the match then took the lead on an Erika Bracey solo block. Sydney Houchens followed with her fourth kill of the set, and Bracey ended the set with a kill of her own. Rhode Island hit .343 as a team as Havyn Rolle led the way with six kills. Dakota Henry had 11 digs in the set, and the Rams had five blocks in the opening set.

Set Two - George Mason 25, Rhode Island 18
George Mason's service game gave Rhode Island issues, as the Patriots had four aces in the set. The visitors built an early lead and kept Rhody at an arm's length throughout. Chelsea Colter's third kill of the stanza ended the set and evened the match.

Set Three - George Mason 26, Rhode Island 24.
Trailing 24-21, Rhode Island was able to fend off three set points to tie the score. An attack error by George Mason, a solo block by McKenna Melton and a service ace from Havyn Rolle pulled URI even at 24-24. However, back-to-back attack errors by the Rams gave the visitors the set and a 2-1 lead.

Set Four - Rhode Island 25, George Mason 21
URI's defensive play at the net and service issues for George Mason helped Rhody extend the match. The Rams had eight blocks in the set - including two solo blocks and two block assists from Aerin Bowman - as they limited George Mason to an .079 attack percentage. That coupled with five service errors by George Mason helped Rhody square up the match. Fittingly, the set ended on a block by Bowman and Havyn Rolle.

Set Five - Georg Mason 15, Rhode Island 11
The final set was filled with drama, as there were nine ties and six lead changes. Neither side managed any separation until George Mason scored the final four points to end the match. With the score tied 11-11, Avery Booker delivered back-to-back kills. Haley Graetz added one of her own before Chelsea Colter and Booker combined on a block to secure th victory.

Inside the Box Score

• One match after setting a career high with 25 digs, Dakota Henry added 24 more.
• She had 11 digs in the first set alone.
• Havyn Rolle led the Rams with 16 kills while committing just two errors.
• Rolle added four service aces, three blocks and two digs.
• Aerin Bowman and Chloe Abuto were outstanding defensively, combining for 15 blocks. Abuto had one solo block and seven assists, while Bowman had three solo efforts and four assists.
• Sydney Houchens recorded nine kills and seven digs.
• Ema Stermenska had 19 assists and eight digs.
• Kiera McCarles had 24 assists and four digs.
• McKenna Melton gave the team a boost off the bench. She had three kills, three blocks, and four digs over the final three sets.

Up Next
Rhode Island and George Mason are back in Keaney Gym for a match Sunday, Nov. 2. The match begins at 1 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.