Rhode Island Starters
Lalli, Melton, Abuto, Rolle, Stermenska, Richter, Keaney, Henry (L)
Dayton Starters
Hunt, Cresse, Harrington, Vinson, Liening, Sprada, Barry (L), Asleson (L)
How it Happened
Rhode Island (6-22, 1-15 Atlantic 10) managed to take a set off first-place Dayton, but the host Flyers (21-8, 13-3 A10) ultimately had too much for the Rams, winning the match 25-19, 22-25, 25-15, 25-10 Saturday.
Set 1 - Dayton 25, Rhode Island 19
After falling behind by six early in the set at 13-7, Rhody gradually chipped away until a
McKenna Melton kill got the Rams within two at 18-16. However, a 4-0 Dayton run that featured two Ava Liening kills pushed the lead back to six. An Abigail Cresse kills gave the hosts the first set. Kamryn Hunt and Charlotte Vinson combined for nine kills in the set for Dayton.
Set 2 - Rhode Island 25, Dayton 22
Rhode Island nearly led for the entire second set. The only time the Rams trailed was at 10-9, as URI fought to even the match. A smooth offense orchestrated by setter
Ema Stermenska (7 assists) led to a team attack percentage of .393 in the set, as Rhode Island had 13 kills with just two errors.
Havyn Rolle and
Emily Sawyer led the balanced attack with three kills each.
Set 3 - Dayton 25, Rhode Island 15
The third set was reasonably close after a
Cara Richter ace pulled URI within 14-11. However, Dayton closed out the set with an 11-4 run . Kaileigh Meritt had three kills, annd five other Flyers had two each as Dayton cruised to a 2-1 lead.
Set 4 - Dayton 25, Rhode Island 10
Rhode Island scored the first three points of the set, courtesy of an
Ema Stermenska ace, a Dayton attack error and a
Cara Richter kill. However, a 7-0 response from Dayton stymied the momentum and the set was over quickly. Eight attack errors by Rhode Island and eight service aces by Dayton - four by Sidney Sprada, made life easy for the hosts.
Inside the Box Score
- The loss was the eighth in a row for Rhode Island.
- Dayton leads both Loyola Chicago and Saint Louis by two games for first place in the Atlantic 10 standings with all teams having two matches remaining.
- Dakota Henry had 14 digs and four assists.
- She needs 43 digs over the final two matches to reach 500 for the season.
- Emily Sawyer led the Rams with nine kills and also had seven blocks.
- Rhody had 11 blocks as a team.
- Havyn Rolle had seven kills and five blocks.
- She hit a team-best .316 for the match.
Up Next
Rhode Island closes out the season with matches at home against Saint Louis on Thursday, Nov. 12 (5 p.m.) and Friday, Nov. 13 (12 p.m.). The Friday match will be streamed on ESPN+ and will be the team's Senior Day.
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