Spring Break
Rhode Island volleyball splits 'PinkOut' weekend with Xavier, Dayton Universities
Kyle Towne
Issue date: 11/7/08 Section: Sports
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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.
