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

No. 23 Missouri Starters
Harvey, Johnson, Haith, DeMarrais, Luckett, Crownover, Sands  (L)

How It Happened
No. 23 Missouri overpowered Rhode Island on the first day of the Fight at the Fort, hosted by TCU. The Tigers swept URI (25-14, 25-17, 25-20) behind a balanced attack that produced 46 kills and a .345 attack percentage.

Set One – No. 23 Missouri 25, Rhode Island 14
A fast start allowed Missouri to cruise through the opening set. Kills from Kimani Johnson, Trinity Luckett and Janet deMarrais were part of a 4-0 spurt to start the match. Rhody only got within three points at 4-1 and 5-2, before the Tiger lead quickly ballooned. Seven different Tigers had at least one kill in the set, with Grace O'Reilly leading the way with five.

Set Two – No. 23 Missouri 25, Rhode Island 17
Rhody played much better to open the second set, and the score was tied 14-14 following a run of three consecutive kills by Erika Bracey. However, an 8-1 Missouri run put the Tigers well in control. Grace O'Reilly and Asia Harvey each had two kills and Marina Crownover delivered a pair of aces during the key stretch.  

Set Three – No. 23 Missouri 25, Rhode Island 20
Rhode Island took its first lead of the match when Aerin Bowman recorded a solo block that put the Rams up 5-4. Moments later, the Rams used a 4-0 run to pull ahead 9-5. Bowman was in on two more blocks during the run, pairing with Havyn Rolle on one and Chloe Abuto on the other. A 10-3 run for Missouri threatened to put the match away, but a pair of Grace O'Reilly attack errors pulled Rhode Island back within one at 15-14. That was as close as the Rams got. A 5-1 stretch made the score 20-15 in favor of the Tigers, and the Rams were unable to mount a rally to extend the match.

Inside the Box Score

• Missouri was successful on 75.5 percent (40-of-53) of its side out chances, which prevented Rhode Island from stringing many rallies together.
• Despite the loss, Rhode Island had a 7-6 edge in blocks.
• Sophomore Erika Bracey led URI the offense with eight kills.
• She has 20 kills over her last three matches after recording three combined in her first three appearances.
• Senior Kiera McCarles had 17 assists and seven digs, both teams highs.
• Freshman Autumn Tombline had nine assists in two sets.
• Junior Chloe Abuto had six kills, three digs and three block assists.
• Abuto is two blocks away from 200 for her career.

Up Next
Rhode Island has two matches on Friday, Sept. 12. The Rams play No. 15 TCU (Sept. 12) at 12 p.m. EST and Wyoming (Sept. 12) at 5 p.m. EST. The TCU match will stream on ESPN+.