THE BASICS:

RESULT: Rhode Island 3, Hartford 0 (27-25, 25-23, 25-19)
LOCATION: Hartford Volleyball Gym (West Hartford, Conn.)
RECORDS: Hartford (0-5), Rhode Island (1-3)
ATTENDANCE: 737

THE LEAD:
Sophomore Paulina Modestow delivered a season-high 15 kills, but a strong team effort lifted Rhode Island to a 3-0 victory over the Hartford volleyball team on Friday night.
 
Audrey Castro led the Rams with 10 kills, while Layne Self hit .538 on the night with seven blocks. Callan Kinnan added a match-high 29 assists and 13 digs for Rhody.
 
Astrid Mangual added a double-double of her own with 24 assists and 11 digs for the Hawks, while Megan Scherer added 10 digs in a losing effort. Modestow hit .316 in the contest.
 


SET-BY-SET
• Hartford came strong out of the gate, using kills by Katy Henchy and Jenna Bridges to open up a 9-6 lead that the home squad would eventually stretch to 12-7. But the Rams were able to chip away slowly, eventually taking the lead at 19-18. From there, the squads traded points to a 24-23 Hartford edge, but URI was able to tally the final three points to take a 27-25 victory in the first
• The second set saw Rhode Island open up strong with an early 12-7 lead, but the Hawks rallied back slowly but surely, trimming it to 14-13 on consecutive Modestow kills and a Mangual service ace. URI rebounded, pulling back ahead 21-17, but the Hawks again came roaring back, and another Modestow kill put the home squad ahead 23-22. Again, though, Rhody was able to finish strong, as consecutive kills by Self gave the visitors a 25-23 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
• In the third, the teams came out even, as an Olivia Rougeau kill knotted things up at 9-9. URI then rolled off four-straight points, and used the momentum from that to eventually build a 19-12 lead. Hartford was able to cut it to 20-16 on another Rougeau winner, but that was as close as the Hawks would get, as the Rams took the third 25-19.
 
UP NEXT:
The Hawks will take on Manhattan (12:30 p.m.) and Central Connecticut (7 p.m.) on Saturday in the second day of the Hartford Invitational. Admission will be free for all matches of the event. Full details are available at HartfordHawks.com.