THE BASICS
Rhode Island (2-7) vs. Northwestern (8-1)
First serve: Monday, Sept. 15, 3:00 p.m. EST
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Match Notes

RHODE ISLAND VS. NORTHWESTERN - SERIES NOTES

• Rhode Island and Northwestern are meeting for the fifth time in a series that dates back to 1984.
• Monday is the first home match - and the only one until October - for Rhody.
• Northwestern has won each of the previous four matches, with the most recent one coming in 1993.
• That match was a 3-0 victory for the Wildcats at the Rhode Island Invitational in Kingston. The tournament also included Villanova and Toledo. 
• Monday's match is part of a four-match East Coast swing for Northwestern.
• It played three matches at the Buffalo Classic over the weekend, knocking off host Buffalo in five sets, sweeping Niagara and beating Cornell, 3-1.
• Northwestern comes into the match on a five-game winning streak.
• It's lone loss of the season was a five-set thriller against then No. 20 Baylor in Waco, Texas.
• Senior Rylan Reid leads the Wildcats with 100 kills on the season.
• She has at least 10 kills in seven of the eight matches she has played, including a season-high 18 in a win over UC San Diego on Aug. 31.
• Northwestern has a strong service game, ranking 21st in the country with 2.08 aces per set.
• Graduate student Ayah Elnady leads the Big 12 with 0.68 aces per set. She has 16 on the season.
• Elnady is a two-time All-Big 12 First Team selection, earning the honor in both 2023 and 2024.
• Reid and junior Drew Wright have 15 aces each for Northwestern.
• Northwestern head coach Tim Nollan is in his second season with the Wildcats. 
• This season has already been a massive turnaround for the program, which was 5-23 last season.
• Before taking over at Northwestern, he spent five seasons at Grand Canyon, going 95-36 overall.
• In 2023, he led Grand Canyon to the WAC title and the program's first NCAA Championship appearance.
• Rhode Island head coach Ryan Sullivan was an assistant coach on the Northwestern staff in 2019.

VENTE NAMED TO FIGHT IN THE FORT ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

• Redshirt senior Emma Vente has been Rhode Island's top offensive player this season, leading the team in total kills (63) and kills per set (2.17).
• She was named to the Fight In the Fort All-Tournament Team over the weekend after recording 20 kills and nine digs in three matches.
• On the defensive side of the net, Vente is third on the team with 39 digs.
• She is fourth on the team with 17.0 blocks.
• Vente is one of three players to appear in all 29 sets the Rams have played this season. The others are junior Chloe Abuto and sophomore Havyn Rolle.