Mason (4-8) vs. Rhode Island (3-9)
WHEN: Friday, 6 p.m. & Saturday, 12 p.m.
WHERE: Kearney Gymnasium; Kingston, R.I.
LIVE STATS: LINK   
LIVE VIDEO: LINK 
 
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's volleyball team is set to open its' Atlantic 10 schedule this weekend with a trip to Rhode Island to battle the Rams on Friday and Saturday.
 
A season ago in Fairfax, Mason and Rhode Island split the weekend series with the Patriots beating the Rams 3-0 on Friday and URI downing the hosts 3-1 on Saturday. All time, Rhode Island leads the series 13-4, including 7-1 at home, with all matches coming as members of the Atlantic 10.
 
The last time out, Mason hosted three teams in the Patriot Invite. Despite the three loses, all three games were tight battles, including five-set games against Middle Tennessee and Seattle. Freshman Caroline Rodriguez had a standout weekend, leading the Mason offense with 3.77 kills/set, highlighted by a career-high 18 kills at a .696 clip on Friday against Middle Tennessee. 
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• Rodriguez is joined by Nani Spaar, Ewelina Gacek and Olyvia Kennedy as Patriots to average over 2.00 kills per set. Kennedy tallied 16 kills against Seattle on Saturday, a season-high
• Defensively, Camille Larkin leads the Patriots at the net with 44.0 blocks and her 0.92 blocks/set ranks her at seventh in the Atlantic 10. She also ranks third in the conference with a .333 hitting percentage with 66 kills on the season
• Gracie Halley eclipsed the 200-dig mark over the weekend and now averages 4.25/set. The mark ties her for third overall in the A-10
• As a team, Mason ranks fourth among Atlantic 10 teams in points (16.67/set) and assists (12.38/set)

 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Despite sitting at 3-9, Rhode Island had a solid last week, going 2-1 leading up to conference play. Notably, the Rams downed American at home in five sets, a team Mason fell to on opening day in August. All three of Rhode Island's wins have been at home this season, with their other two victories coming against Le Moyne (3-1) and Stonehill (3-0).
 
Madi Disu and Andrea Owens lead the Rams' offense this season with 2.58 and 2.00 kills per set this season while Disu leads the team with 107.5 total points and is the reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week. Last week, she averaged 3.82 kills over 11 sets, including a career-high 24 against American. Hannah Blaney leads the Rams with 17 service aces (10^th, A-10) and 141 digs. Also on the defensive end, Samantha Blahut and Gabrielle Shilling lead Rhode Island with 39.0 and 33.0 blocks in 2023.
 
UP NEXT
The Patriots will return to Fairfax next weekend for their Atlantic 10 home opener against Saint Louis on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30 in the RAC.