Rhode Island Starters
Lalli, Houchens, Johnson, Bracey, Abuto, Richter, Henry (L)
Coppins State Starters
Rovello, Walker, Atilano, Luna, Minta, Cupid, Figueroa (L)Â
How it Happened
Rhode Island (5-6) battled back from a rough opening set, but it could not complete the comeback in a 3-1 loss to Coppin State at UConn's For the White and Blue Tournament Sunday.
Set One - Coppin State 25 Rhode Island 10
Coppin State jumped out to a 9-1 start and never looked back. Eva Rovello orchestrated a smooth attack, dishing out nine assists to a balanced attack that produced 11 kills and just two errors in 25 attacks. Rhode Island hit .000 as a team in the set, with five kills and five errors on its end.
Set Two - Rhode Island 27, Coppin State 25
Rhody bounced back and led for much of the second set. With setter Carly Richter dishing out 15 assists, the Rams had two set points at 24-22. Things looked bleak when Coppin State took three straight points to set up its own set point. A
Cara Richter kill tied the score, and an
Erika Bracey kill gave the Rams another set point. This time, a block by
Chloe Abuto and Richter gave URI the set and tied the match.
Set Three - Coppin State 25, Rhode Island 19
The third set looked like the opening set, as the Rams hit .000 as a team (9 kills, 9 attack errors) and Coppin State had 12 kills in 26 attacks. Coppin State had seven blocks in the set, frustrating the URI attack.
Set Four - Coppin State 25, Rhode Island 23
Rhode Island was in good shape to force a deciding fifth set. A block by
Chloe Abuto and
Grace Keaney put the Rams up 20-17, but Coppin State responded with a 7-2 run. Rhody was able to stave off the first match point, but a kill from Ivanna Luna ended the match.
Inside the Box Score
- First-year setter Carly Thomas gave the Rams a strong effort over the final three sets. She entered the match in the second set and finished with 31 assists, three kills and three digs.
- Middle blocker Emily Sawyer had a team-high 11 kills.
- Fellow middle blocker Chloe Abuto had seven kills with just one error to go with seven block assists.
- Libero Dakota Henry had 21 digs.
Up Next
Rhode Island plays its final non-conference match of the regular season with it plays at UConn on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 1 p.m. The match will stream on UConn Huskies Live.
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