Rhode Island Starters
Lalli, Johnson, Melton, Copeland, Abuto, Keaney, Henry (L)
Penn Starters
Garner, Sanger, Karstetter, Moore, Murray, Sisken, Pollock (L)
How it Happened
In a match filled with momentum swings, the pendulum swung away from Rhode Island (3-5) late. The Rams dropped their second five-set match in a row, falling to Penn (4-1) 25-20, 22-25, 24-26, 25-20, 15-8 at the Leopard Invitational Sunday.
Set One - Penn 25, Rhode Island 20
Rhode Island could not slow down Penn's attack in the opening set, as the Quakers had 15 kills in the opener. Zada Sanger led the way with four kills for the Quakers. On the other side, Penn came up with 22 digs and forced five attack errors by the Rams in 42 total attacks.
Set Two - Rhode Island 25, Penn 22
Rhody used a fast start to build a big lead, then held on to square the match up. The Rams got kills on seven of their first 12 swings and built a 20-13 lead. Penn surged and got within a point at 23-22, but a
Cara Richter kill and an attack error for the Quakers gave Rhody the set. Richter and
McKenna Melton each had three kills in the set to lead URI.
Set Three - Rhode Island 26, Penn 24
Things looked bleak for Rhode Island after a late 5-0 run gave Penn a 21-16 lead. However, the Rams showed grit and fought back. A service error by Penn followed by a
Jahan Lalli ace made it 21-18. After a net violation gave the Quakers a point,
Cara Richter delivered a kill, followed by a
Sydney Houchens ace to close the gap to 22-20. Richter added another kill, but two Penn kills gave the Quakers set point at 24-21. A service error, a Penn attack error and a
KJ Johnson solo block tied the score at 24-24.
Ema Stermenska gave Rhody set point with an ace, and the defense forced Penn's seventh attack error of the set as Rhody completed the improbably comeback.
Set Four - Penn 25, Rhode Island 20
The fourth set was all Penn, as the Quakers hit .486 as a team. They had 18 kills with just one error. Zada Sanger and Haley Kerstetter led the way with four kills each as the Quakers maintained a comfortable lead for most of the set.
Set Five - Penn 15, Rhode Island 8
Penn's attack wore Rhody down in the final set. The Quakers drilled 12 kills, with Jenna Garner (5 kills) and Haley Kerstetter (3 kills) doing the bulk of the damage. The teams were tied 6-6, but a 4-1 spurt gave Penn some breathing room at 10-7, and the Rams never recovered.
Inside the Box Score
- For the second straight match, Rhode Island reached double digits in aces. The Rams had a season-high 11, with Jahan Lalli and Ema Stermenska both recording three.
- The Rams had 11 aces with just four service errors.
- Stermenska and Lalli combined for 43 assists.
- Cara Richter posted her third double-double, setting career highs in kills (15) and assists (13).
- Dakota Henry had 22 digs, her sixth time in eight matches this season topping 20 in a match.
- In her first two seasons combined, the third-year libero reached 20 digs five times.
- Emily Sawyer had 14 kills and five digs.
- McKenna Melton delivered seven kills, four digs and 19 service receptions without an error.
Up Next
Rhode Island plays Quinnipiac at 4:30 p.m. Sunday evening. The match will stream on YouTube.
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