KINGSTON, R.I. - Rhode Island opens the 2026 season with three matches at the CCSU Tournament, starting with a battle against Siena Friday afternoon at 3 p.m.

Rhody also will take on Holy Cross (Aug. 29 at 2 p.m.) and host Central Connecticut State (Aug. 30 at 11 a.m.) over the course of the weekend. All three matches featuring the Rams will be streamed on NEC Front Row Sports, courtesy of the CCSU athletic staff.

THE BASICS | WEEKEND NOTES
Friday, Aug. 28
3 p.m. - Rhode Island vs. Siena | Live Stats | Stream

Friday, Aug. 29
2 p.m. - Rhode Island vs. Holy Cross | Live Stats | Stream

Sunday, Aug. 30
3 p.m. - Rhode Island vs. Central Connecticut State | Live Stats | Stream

RHODE ISLAND VS. SIENA - SERIES NOTES

• Rhode Island is 3-0 against Siena all-time.
• This is the second straight season the Rams will open against Siena. In 2025, Rhody won 3-0 at the Stony Brook Invitational.
• Rhode Island has won nine of the 10 sets all time between the teams.
• Siena was 14-19 overall last season, including a 9-9 record in the MAAC.
• Last season, the Saints made the MAAC Championship tournament in their first season under head coach Tyler Kanelos. It was the first postseason appearance for the program in three years.
• The team improved by eight wins in Kanelos' first year after going 6-24 in 2024.

RHODE ISLAND VS. HOLY CROSS - SERIES NOTES

• Rhode Island is 10-0 against Holy Cross all time.
• The series dates back to 1977, the third year on record for the URI program.
• Rhody and the Crusaders are meeting for the first time since 2021, when URI hosted Holy Cross as part of the Art Carmichael Invitational.
• Holy Cross was 9-23 overall in 2025, including a 3-13 mark in the Patriot League. 
• The Crusaders are in their second season under head coach Matthew Cribbin. He took over a program that won two games in 2024 and improved by seven victories last season. 

RHODE ISLAND VS. CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE - SERIES NOTES

• Rhode Island is 15-2 against Central Connecticut State all-time.
• The teams are playing each other for the second year in a row.
• In 2025, Rhode Island won 3-0 at the Stony Brook Invitational.
• CCSU is coming off a season in which it went 9-19 overall, but 8-8 in the NEC.
• CCSU head coach Alyssa Broccoli is in her third season at the helm. She has an overall mark of 13-41. Last season the Blue Devils won nine matches, a five-win improvement from the 2024 season. 

NINE NEW FACES ON THE RHODY ROSTER

• Rhode Island added three transfers and six first-year players to its roster during the offseason.
• Fourth-year player Emily Sawyer transferred from Sacred Heart and has been with the program since the start of the Spring semester.
• Sawyer is a 6-6 middle blocker and right-side attacker who is coming off her best season.
•  She started all 30 matches and played every possible set for the Pioneers in 2025, recording career highs in both kills (195) and total blocks (78). 
• Sawyer played 81 career matches in three seasons at Sacred Heart and had 380 kills and 191 total blocks. 
• Also transferring in were fourth-year player KJ Johnson (Elon) and second-year player Reagan Nisbet (Northeastern).
• A middle blocker, Johnson has played in 60 career matches, recording 135 total blocks and 124 kills while posting a career hitting percentage of .203.
• Nisbet, a defensive specialist, did not appear in any matches for the Huskies last season. 
• The six first-year players for Rhode Island are outside hitters Sophia Chinetti and Cara Richter; setters Jahan Lalli and Carly Thomas; defensive specialist Kiara Copeland; and right-side/middle blocker Grace Keaney.
• Chinetti (Chicago, Ill.) comes out of Benet Academy, which was a top-20 team nationally each of her last three seasons, ranking as high as No. 3 in the country. 
• The roster included 13 Division I players her junior season, and Benet was the Illinois state runner up each of Chinetti's four seasons. 
• Chinetti was the No. 1-ranked right-side out of Illinois as a senior, earning all-conference and all-area recognition. 
• Richter (Loveland, Ohio) has direct ties to Rhode Island volleyball program. Her mother, Tracee Housel, played for the Rams from 1991-94, helping the program win an Atlantic 10 title and earn a bid to the NCAA Championship in 1991.
• Richter was a three-time district champion and a team captain for Mount Notre Dame.
• She was an All-Ohio Second Team selection in 2025, and a First-Team All-District and Player of the Year pick as well.
• Lalli is a product of Pope High School and both the A5 Volleyball and 18-1 Marc Volleyball Club teams
• She earned AVCA All-Region honors in both her junior and senior seasons and was named the 2025 MaxPreps Best Volleyball Player in Georgia. 
• Thomas was a team captain throughout her high school career for Kingwood, where she set her school's records for most career assists, most assists in a season and most assists in a match. 
• Copeland is a defensive specialist from Greens Farms Academy, where she earned FAA All-League Second Team recognition and was the Defensive Player of the Year last Fall. 
• Keaney (Yarmouth, Maine) is a tremendous athlete who was a three-time All-State selection in volleyball for Yarmouth.
• She also played lacrosse and basketball while competing in both indoor and outdoor track and field in high school.