Rhode Island Starters
Parker, Melton, Abuto, Rolle, Vente, Bowman, Kornosor (L)

Central Connecticut State Starters
Ginley, Tokam, Keckler, Lind, Milosevic, Poczynek, Denomme (L)

How It Happened
Rhode Island (2-0) recorded its second sweep in as many days, defeating Central Connecticut State 25-22, 25-23, 25-21 Saturday afternoon. It is the first time since 2013 the Rams have opened the season with back-to-back 3-0 victories.

Set One – Rhode Island 25, CCSU 22
With the score tied 14-14, kills from Havyn Rolle and McKenna Melton keyed a 3-0 spurt to give Rhody a 17-14 lead and force CCSU (0-2) to call a timeout. The Blue Devils responded with a 3-1 run to pull within one at 18-17, but Rhody never gave up the lead. A Melton kill followed by a Ryleigh Powers ace put URI up 21-18. The teams traded points until an Aerin Bowman kill followed by an Autumn Tombline ace closed out the first set.

Set Two – Rhode Island 25, CCSU 23
CCSU rebounded early in the second set, scoring the first four points. The Blue Devils led by as many as five before Rhode Island recovered. The Rams called timeout while trailing 14-10 and responded with a 7-2 run that featured two Havyn Rolle kills, a solo block by Hannah Jonick and a tandem block for Jonick and Chloe Abuto to pull ahead 17-16. CCSU came back with a 4-1 run to move in front 20-18 after an Olivia Keckler kill, forcing Rhody to call its second time out of the set. Abuto delivered a kill that started a 4-1 Rhody run to push the Rams back in front 22-21 after a block by Rolle and Bowman. A service error by CCSU with the score tied 23-23 gave Rhody set point, and a block by Rolle and Emma Vente put URI up 2-0.  

Set Three – Rhode Island 25, CCSU 21
After starting the third set with a 7-2 run, Rhode Island had to fend off CCSU the rest of the way. Though URI never trailed, the Blue Devils managed to tie the set four times, the last of which was 20-20. From there, three straight blocks by the defense gave the Rams a commanding 23-20 lead. Chloe Abuto factored in all three blocks, as she paired with Emma Vente, McKenna Melton and Aerin Bowman on consecutive points. An Abuto kill set up match point at 24-21, and Bowman finished things off with a kill of her own.

Inside the Box Score

• Rhode Island's offense was efficient, recording 29 kills with just six errors. The Rams hit .303 as a team.
• No Rhody players had more than one attack error.
• Defensively, URI recorded 16 blocks, the team's second straight match with at least 13 blocks to start the season.
• CCSU committed 25 attack errors in just three sets.
• Sophomore Havyn Rolle had a team-high seven kills with no errors. She added six blocks defensively.
• Senior Aerin Bowman had six kills and eight blocks, while junior Chloe Abuto finished with four kills, no errors and seven blocks.
• Redshirt senior Emma Vente had five kills, eight digs and three blocks
• Redshirt freshman Cansu Kornosor made her collegiate debut and started at libero. She recorded a team-high nine digs, two assists and one ace.
• Redshirt sophomore Jessica Parker made her Rhode Island debut and had 10 assists with three digs.
• Sophomore Erika Bracey made her first appearance of the season when she entered in the third set. She had one kill and a key block late in the set.

Up Next
Rhode Island closes out the Stony Brook Invite with a match against the host on Sunday, Aug. 31. Play starts at 1 p.m. and will stream on FloCollege.com.