University of Rhode Island

Rhode Island Starters
Nisbit, Johnson, Melton, Abuto, Stermenska, Sawyer, Henry (L)

UConn Starters 
Sohl, Grenadier, Grayson, Borowy, Einarsdottir, Daca, Akishige (L) 

How it Happened
The balanced attack for Connecticut was too much for Rhode Island, as the Huskies defeated URI 3-1 (25-27, 25-17, 25-18, 25-20) in the finale of UConn's For the Blue and White Tournament Sunday afternoon.

Rhode Island (5-7) did well to win the opening set. However, the Huskies (7-6) had four players reach double digits in kills. Helena Einarsdottir led the way with 19. Sydney Borowy added 14, Courtney Grayson had 11 and Maja Duca chipped in 10 for the UConn attack.

Set One - Rhode Island 27, UConn 25
In a thrilling first set, Rhode Island showed maturity and resolve to take the opening set. Trailing 15-13, the Rams went on a 6-0 run that included two Cara Richter kills as well as kills from KJ Johson and Emily Sawyer to move ahead 19-15. UConn responded with a 4-1 spurt to pull within one at 20-19. The teams traded the next seven points as Rhody kept moving ahead by two, only to see the Huskies cut the lead to one again. Another Richter kill gave URI two set points at 24-22, but UConn scored three points to take the lead, 25-24. Rhody did not buckle. Sawyer sandwiched a pair of kills around a UConn attack error to grab the set. Sawyer and Richter combined for nine kills while Ema Stermenska dished out 10 assists in the set.

Set Two - UConn 25, Rhode Island 17
UConn stormed back in the second set, scoring the first six points of the set and never letting Rhody back in it. The Rams got within one at 9-8 following a KJ Johnson ace, but UConn never relinquished the lead. Helena Einarsdottir started to influence the match, recording five kills with no errors.

Set Three - UConn 25, Rhode Island 18
Again the Huskies jumped out early, taking an 11-3 lead following a Sydney Borowy kill. Rhode Island made several attempts to change the momentum, but it never got closer than five points away in the set. Borowy finished the set with eight kills, nearly matching URI's team total of nine.

Set Four - UConn 25, Rhode Island 20
The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair with 11 ties throughout. Rhody led 15-12 - the biggest lead for either side - heading into the technical timeout after an attack error by Helena Einarsdottir. After the break, a 7-1 run for UConn put the hosts ahead 19-16, and URI couldn't close the gap to less than two the rest of the way. Einarsdottir had three kills during the pivotal stretch and eight kills in the set as she helped put the match away.  

Inside the Box Score

• Rhode Island middle blocker Emily Sawyer was named to the all-tournament team. Over the three matches, she had 26 kills, seven blocks and a .277 attack percentage.
• Sawyer had nine kills, two digs and one solo block Sunday.
• Ema Stermenska led a trio of Rhody setters with 20 assists, nine digs and one ace.
• Jahan Lalli added 10 assists and seven digs, while Carly Thomas had seven assists and one kill.
• Cara Richter had a team-high 10 kills to go with six digs.
• KJ Johnson led the team with a .600 hitting percentage, getting nine kills with no errors in 15 swings.
• Dakota Henry had 23 digs, four assists and two aces.
• She has topped 20 digs in eight of the team's 12 matches this season.

Up Next
Rhode Island begins Atlantic 10 play with two matches at George Mason next weekend. The teams play Friday, Sept. 25 at 5 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 26 at 12 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.