THE BASICS
Weekend Schedule
Friday, Sept. 25
5 p.m. - Rhode Island at George Mason | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Saturday, Sept. 26
12 p.m. - Rhode Island at George Mason | ESPN+ | Live Stats

RHODE ISLAND VS. GEORGE MASON - SERIES NOTES

• Rhode Island is 16-9 against George Mason all-time, in a series that dates back to 1985.
• Friday marks the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams.
• The teams split two matches last season. 
• After dropping a five-match thriller to the Patriots on Nov. 1, the Rhody won in four sets the next day to snap a five-match losing streak in the series.
• George Mason enters Atlantic 10 play 8-4, riding a two-match losing streak.
• The Patriots were picked fourth in the A10 preseason poll, the highest preseason ranking in program history.
• George Mason's previous highest preseason ranking was seventh in 2019.
• Last season, George Mason posted their best season in more than 10 years, going 10-8 in conference play, their best A10 record since 2009 — its first winning season since 2010.
• George Mason qualified for the A-10 tournament for the first time since 2018, losing in the first-round to host VCU 3-1.
• Kiera Hamilton leads the conference with 3.95 kills per set.
• In 2025, Hamilton was named the A10 Rookie of the Year and also was both First-Team All Conference and on the All-Rookie team. 
• Nia Thompson also was named to the All-Rookie Team.

MOMENTUM INTO CONFERENCE PLAY

• Rhode Island has already secured five wins before the start of A10 play, matching its win total from 2025.
• The Rams opened the season 3-0, defeating Siena, Holy Cross, and Central Connecticut State. It was the first time URI has started a season with three straight wins since 2014, when it opened 8-0.
• After three straight losses, the Rams responded with a 3-1 victory over Quinnipiac, their fourth win of the season.
• The Rams' win against Merrimack on Sept. 18 marked their first 3-0 victory of the season.
• The sweep was Rhode Island's first 3-0 victory since August 2025, when the Rams defeated Central Connecticut State, 3-0.
• The Rams need just four more victories to match head coach Ryan Sullivan's 2024 total in his first season at the helm. He inherited a program that had won three matches on 2023.

RAMS GET STINGY IN SWEEP OF MERRIMACK

• In its 3-0 win over Merrimack last Friday, Rhode Island held Merrimack to just 18 kills, its lowest opponent kill total of the season. It also was the team's first sweep of the year.
• The 18 kills marked just the fourth time in 16 years that Rhode Island has held an opponent below 20 kills, with the previous low coming in 2012 when the Rams held Denver to just 12.
• The Rams forced Merrimack into 22 attack errors, four more than the Warriors' 18 kills.
• That led to a negative -.047 attack percentage, including negative hitting percentages in two of the three sets.
• It was the first time Rhode Island held an opponent to a negative attack percentage for an entire match since Sept. 17, 2021. In that match, the opponent was the same, as Rhody held Merrimack to a -.039 percentage.
• The Rams dominated at the net, recording 11 blocks to Merrimack's four.
• Emily Sawyer and Chloe Abuto anchored the net, each recording four blocks, including three solo blocks apiece, both tying for the fifth-most solo blocks in a single match in URI history.