VOLLEYBALL COMES UP SHORT AT URI, 3-1

Friday, September 11

7 pm

University of New Hampshire

Rhode Island

9/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

KINGSTON, R.I. – Lindsay Fogarty (Pleasanton, Calif.) tallied 10 kills and hit at a .261 clip, but the University of New Hampshire volleyball team was defeated by the University of Rhode Island, 3-1, in the opening night of competition at the Art Carmichael Invitational . The set scores were 25-17, 23-25, 25-19 and 25-19. New Hampshire falls to 1-6, while the host Rams are now 2-4.

In addition to Fogarty, Justine Elliott (Mitchellville, Md.) notched nine kills and seven blocks including six solos. Kate Uitti (Pinckney, Mich.) paced the Wildcat offense with 33 assists, while defensively Sara Heldman (Greenwood, Ind.) had a team-high 12 digs.

In the opening set, Rhode Island inched out to a 10-5 lead and held a slim lead throughout the remainder of the set and went on for the 25-17 victory. The Rams hit at a match-best .419 clip during the set with just three errors compared to 16 kills. In the second set, UNH recorded the first six points of the set and charged out to an 8-2 lead. URI would chip away at the UNH lead, tying it at 15-15. The set went back and forth and was once again knotted at 23-23 before two straight points secured UNH's lone set victory. Uitti closed out the victory with a service aces, she had a team-best three on the night. New Hampshire scored the first two points of the third set, but the Rams quickly recovered with four-straight points of their own. Rhode Island held on to that small lead throughout the set as it held a lead of no larger than four and no smaller than one. With the scored 18-17, Rhody finished the set scoring seven of the final nine points. The fourth and final set was highly competitive with seven ties in the first half including a 15-15 deadlock. URI used a 6-2 burst to make it 21-17 and went on to capture the six-point set victory.

New Hampshire returns to action Saturday as they continue play at the Art Carmichael Invitational on the campus of URI. The Wildcats will also play Brown (11 a.m.) and Syracuse (4 p.m.). The 'Cats return home Sept. 18-19 for the second-annual Holly Young Invitational. Wyoming, Arizona State and Harvard make up the field in this year's tournament. Tickets to the tournament and all UNH home games are online at www.UNHWildcats.com.