University of Rhode Island

Rhode Island Starters
Johnson, Abuto, Rolle, Stermenska, Richter, Sawyer, Henry (L)

Davidson Starters 
Smith, Johnson, Compas, Songaila, Young, Garcia-Guerrios, Briscoe (L)   

How it Happened
Rhode Island's inability to close out set point in the second frame was costly as the Rams fell 3-1 (18-25, 27-25, 25-19, 25-17) at Davidson Saturday afternoon.

The Rams (6-17, 1-10 A10) were up 1-0 in sets and had set point at 25-24 in the second. Rhody had all the momentum, rallying from a 20-17 deficit to take  leads at 22-21, 23-22 and 24-23. However, Davidson (10-12, 3-8) came back to win the second set to square up the match, then took the third and fourth sets to complete a weekend sweep of the series.

Set One - Rhode Island 25, Davidson 18
Emily Sawyer was on fire early, collecting six kills in the opening set. She was a big reason Rhody hit .263 as a team and never trailed. The Rams had 20 digs in the set and continuously kept points alive until Sawyer and the offense put points away.

Set Two - Davidson 27, Rhode Island 25
There were 10 ties and five lead changes in the pivotal second set. A service error by the Wildcats gave Rhody a chance for a 2-0 lead with set point at 24-23, but Ariyana Johnson knotted the score with a kill, and an Ellie Ocampo ace put Davidson ahead. Havyn Rolle provided a kill to tie the score at 25-25, but kills by Elena Carcia-Guerrios and Meile Songaila clinched the set for the hosts.

Set Three - Davidson 25, Rhode Island 19
Rhode Island was up 11-10 following a Davidson attack error, but from there Davidson gradually pulled away. Leading 15-14, Davidson used a 4-0 run that featured two bad sets and two attack errors by URI. That was enough to create separation, and Rhode Island never got within three points the rest of the way. Ariyana Johnson's kill clinched the set and Davidson took the 2-1 lead.

Set Four - Davidson 25, Rhode Island 21
A early 6-0 run helped the Wildcats jump out to a 7-2 lead, and the hosts never let Rhode Island get closer than two points again. Setter Kinsey Smith - who finished with 44 assists - had 13 in the fourth set alone to orchestrate an attack that was too much for the Rams to handle.

Inside the Box Score

• The teams combined for 130 digs, with five players for each side reaching double digits.
• Dakota Henry recorded her first career double-double for Rhode Island, finishing with 15 digs and 10 assists.
• Jahan Lalli (18 assists, 11 digs), Havyn Rolle (11 digs, 10 kills), Ema Stermenska (19 assists, 11 digs) and Cara Richter (14 kills, 13 digs) all had double-doubles for the Rams.
• Stermenska had three service aces.
• Emily Sawyer had 11 kills and four blocks.
• KJ Johnson had seven blocks to go with four kills.
• Grace Keaney had seven kills and four blocks.

Up Next
Rhode Island heads to Fordham for a single match on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The match will stream on ESPN+ at 5 p.m.