VCU Volleyball Wins 11th in a Row, Defeats Rhode Island 3-0
By: Jason Boleman
VCU Volleyball won its 11th consecutive match Friday night at the Siegel Center, defeating the University of Rhode Island three sets to none (25-18, 25-21, 25-18). The 11 match win streak, in which VCU has only lost seven sets, is the program’s longest since 1985.
One strength that VCU had was near the net, as the team totaled twice as many blocks as URI. Senior Alica Kandler, who came into the match with a team-leading 169.5 points, led VCU in points with 14 as VCU had five of the top six scorers of the match. Junior Tori Baldwin and sophomore Gina Tuzzolo led VCU with eight and six blocks respectively, which outpaced the next three closest players in the match, which shows what a critical edge VCU gained with blocking. Rhode Island kept the match close in the second and third sets, even forcing VCU to take timeouts due to deficits and URI runs, but in the end VCU found ways to build momentum and pull away towards the end of sets.
For both teams, this was the first match in their A-10 schedules. VCU (14-2) next plays at home Sunday, September 24th against Fordham. URI (5-8) stays on the road this weekend, facing Davidson on Sunday, September 24th.
