Rhode Island volleyball splits 'PinkOut' weekend with Xavier, Dayton Universities

11/07/08 - The University of Rhode Island women's volleyball team swept Xavier University but was then swept by Dayton University in a pair of games this past weekend. The weekend was URI's first ever "Pink Out" at Keaney Gym, where fans and students were encouraged to wear pink to support breast cancer. All proceeds from both matches went to cancer research in Rhode Island.

In front of one of the biggest home crowds of the year, the Rams (12-12, 4-6 in the Atlantic 10) played at the top of their game and knocked off Xavier (7-3 in the A-10) on Saturday, 3-0.

"That was the team's biggest win in the last several years," Rams head coach Bob Schneck said.

After falling behind 2-0 in the first game, the Rams scored the next five points behind sophomore Kayla Newberg, who finished with a team-high 11 kills. The game went back and forth, with eight lead changes en route to a 24-24 score.

Sophomore Lindsay Lytle had a clean spike for one of her eight kills to put the team ahead by one, and a hitting error by Xavier ended the game, 26-24.

The Rams came out to win four of the first five points in game two to build a quick 4-1 lead. URI held this lead for the remainder of the game, eventually winning 25-20.

Facing a quick elimination, Xavier seemed to play with more desperation. Both teams played evenly until the score was 13-13. The Rams then went on a 12-2 run to win the game and the match, 25-15.

"It felt really good to sweep them," Schneck said. "They always give us trouble in their place. It was nice to return the favor to them."

Freshman Stacey Yohannes had to leave the match with an ankle injury midway through the first game.

"The injury isn't bad," Schneck said. "She'll be back for our next game."

Her replacement, senior Chinny Okpara, had four kills in only seven attempts. Senior Peggy Doino led the team defensively with seven digs in the match.

URI tried to keep its winning streak alive when they hosted Dayton (9-1 Atlantic 10) on Sunday. The Rams came out of the gates with all of the momentum behind them with another lively crowd, taking a 12-7 lead. The Flyers scored the next five points to even the score. The game remained close until the score was 18-18, when the Flyers ripped off seven consecutive points to win the set 25-18.

URI jumped out to another quick lead against the Flyers in game two, taking an 11-5 advantage. Once again, the Flyers went on another big scoring run, working the score back to 14-14.

However, the Rams would not let the Flyers run away with this one. The teams battled back and forth until the score was 17-17. URI and Dayton exchanged point-for-point until the score was 27-27. The next two points went to Dayton's favor, as it won the game 29-27 and took a 2-0 lead in the match.

Ahead 2-0, Dayton came out strong, taking a 9-1 lead. The Flyers did not give up this lead at all, winning the game 25-16.

"I wasn't very pleased with this one," Schneck said. "I don't feel we had the same spirit as Saturday."

Newberg had another great performance, leading the team with nine kills. Junior Caitlyn Welsh chipped in eight kills, and sophomore Lauren McIntosh added seven kills. Doino had a team-high 10 digs.

This weekend, the Rams will go on the road to play Duquesne University (3-6) and St. Louis University (9-0).

"Duquesne's a good team," Schneck said. "We really need the win to get to the Atlantic 10 championships. It's the end of the season, and the pressure's on.