The University of Rhode Island women’s volleyball team was swept by Duquesne University this past weekend, but recovered by picking up a 3-1 win on Wednesday against Fordham University.
The Rams took a trip to the Steel City for a two-game series against Duquesne over the weekend. In game one on Friday, URI took the first set by a score of 25-20. Set two was competitive early on, with the Dukes holding onto an 11-10 lead, but Duquesne pulled away late to take the second set by a score of 25-17.
The third set was all Duquesne, as Rhode Island committed 11 errors and Duquesne went on an 11-0 run to cruise to a 25-11 set-three win. URI kept the fourth set close, trailing 22-20 late, but the Dukes scored three straight points to end the set and earn a 3-1 win.
In the second match on Saturday, Duquesne picked up right where it left off. The Dukes dominated Rhode Island for all three sets. The Rams never held a lead in the first set and went on to lose 25-17. In the second set, URI went on a 5-0 run to make it 20-18, but couldn’t complete the comeback as it fell 25-20. Duquesne completed the sweep in the third set, picking up a 25-18 win, as Rhode Island once again never held a lead.
“We’re not by any means punting on the season,” URI Head Coach Ryan Sullivan said. “We just keep our head down and keep grinding.”
The Rams extended their losing streak to a program record 12 games with the defeats and fell to 0-11 in A-10 play. While URI isn’t eliminated from the A-10 Tournament, it has its work cut out to qualify. Rhody would need to win out and get help from the rest of the league along the way to make the postseason.
URI hosted Fordham on Wednesday night with a chance to get its first conference win and snap its losing streak. URI lost to Fordham by a score of 3-1 in the first meeting between the teams back on Oct. 8.
“We’ve been circling this game,” Sullivan said. “We felt that we should’ve won when we were at Fordham.”
The win against Rhode Island was Fordham’s only A-10 win of the season. Fordham entered Wednesday night’s match 1-10 in conference play and only one game ahead of URI in the A-10 conference standings.
Despite the losing streak, Sullivan has expressed that he is still confident in his team and hasn’t lost faith in them. However, actions speak louder than words, so Sullivan put his money where his mouth is.
“I’m here for the long haul,” Sullivan said. “I just got a tattoo of Rhode Island the other day trying to get a freaking win against Fordham, so I got an anchor on my leg. It’s just to show I’m not going anywhere. We are building something for the long haul.”
Rhody fell behind early in the opening set Wednesday night, as Fordham went on a 6-0 run to open the game and went on to win 25-15 to make it 1-0. URI avoided falling behind early in the second set and tied it 8-8. Rhody pulled away, taking 17 out of the next 23 points to win the set 25-14 and tie the match at 1-1.
The third set was also tightly contested. With the score tied at 12-12, URI went on a 6-0 run to take a commanding 18-12 lead. Fordham battled back to make it 24-22, but a kill from fourth-year right-side Aerin Bowman gave URI the win to go up 2-1. URI found itself just one set away from their first win since Sept. 20.
Fordham wouldn’t make it easy for Rhody in the fourth set, as URI trailed 19-14 but took six out of the next seven points to come back and tie the match at 20-20. After URI pulled ahead, Fordham once again got within two points to make it 24-22, but a kill from fifth-year outside hitter Emma Vente gave URI a 25-22 win. With the 3-1 victory, URI picked up its first conference win of the season and also snapped its program-record losing streak.
URI will look to carry the momentum from the win into the weekend as it hosts George Mason University for a two-game series starting on Saturday. Both games will be available to stream on ESPN+.
The post Volleyball responds from weekend sweep with first conference victory first appeared on The Good 5¢ Cigar.
Latest Rhody Cigar
- This Week In Sports – 10/30Football FINAL (10/25): University of Rhode Island 38-17 Bryant University Football celebrated family weekend by taking down in-state rival Bryant on Saturday. The Bulldogs struck first with an early passing touchdown, but second-year running back Gabe Winowich responded with a 51-yard rushing touchdown five minutes later. His five-yard rushing touchdown just 44 seconds later to... The post This Week In Sports – 10/30 first appeared on The Good 5¢ Cigar.
- CAA Power Rankings – Week 9We’re down to the final four weeks of the Coastal Athletic Association regular season, and all spots outside of the top three are still up for grabs. Each week, The Good Five Cent Cigar Sports Staff comes up with its cumulative ranking of CAA football teams. Here is what we came up with following week... The post CAA Power Rankings – Week 9 first appeared on The Good 5¢ Cigar.
- WBB Season Preview 2025-26: ‘Expectations have never been higher’The following article is an opinionated preview of the upcoming women’s basketball season. Coming off its fifth straight season with an over .500 record, the University of Rhode Island women’s basketball team heads into the 2025 campaign with high expectations and a championship mindset. After finishing 17-16 overall and 11-7 in league play, the Rams... The post WBB Season Preview 2025-26: ‘Expectations have never been higher’ first appeared on The Good 5¢ Cigar.
- MBB Season Preview 2025-26: Make-or-break timeThe following article is an opinionated preview of the upcoming men’s basketball season. Archie Miller was a darling at the University of Dayton, taking the Flyers to four NCAA Tournaments in six years before leaving to coach Indiana University Bloomington in the Big Ten Conference. After four seasons with the Hoosiers, he found himself fired.... The post MBB Season Preview 2025-26: Make-or-break time first appeared on The Good 5¢ Cigar.
- Eden etches name into record book with double-digit shutoutsThird-year goalkeeper Dani Eden has been the light at the end of the tunnel for the University of Rhode Island women’s soccer team this season, setting the school record with 10 shutouts in net. Eden began her collegiate career at Drexel University and transferred to URI after not seeing the pitch in her freshman year.... The post Eden etches name into record book with double-digit shutouts first appeared on The Good 5¢ Cigar.
- Pena’s prolific career continues with latest program recordFourth-year linebacker A.J. Pena broke the University of Rhode Island football program’s career sacks record on Oct. 18, while also smashing his single-game career high that he set in his freshman year. Pena put up four sacks against the University at Albany in URI’s 58-17 blowout win, tying the Rams’ record for sacks in a... The post Pena’s prolific career continues with latest program record first appeared on The Good 5¢ Cigar.