PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Ali McLoughlin had 15 more kills and the Keene State College volleyball team hit an eye-popping .565 in a dominant 3-0 win over Rhode Island College in the LEC opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at The Murray Center.

Records

• Keene State:  11-3, 1-0 LEC
• Rhode Island College:  2-7, 0-1 LEC

How It Happened

The Owls opened their Little East schedule and emphatically avenged last year's loss to the Anchorwomen with a dominant win that saw them hit .500 or better in all three sets, racking up 46 kills against just seven errors.  In addition to McLoughlin, Megan Palmer tallied double-digit kills (11), two digs, and two aces, while Olivia Mathieu had 14 digs and Bailey Wilson 32 assists.  Rhode Island College, who was held to a .028 attack percentage, got seven kills from Angelly Polanco.

KSC fell behind very early in the opening set, but came back to lead 9-7 and steadily pulled away from there, taking a 16-11 lead.  An ace from Palmer made it 21-15, and Rhode Island College only scored once more as the Owls wrapped up the set by scoring four of the final five points, finishing with a kill by McLoughlin.

The second frame played out in a similar fashion, as KSC was ahead by just one (10-9) after a kill by RIC, but the Owls roared to life after that, scoring 15 of the next 20 points to win going away.

A similar run sealed the sweep for Keene State in the third set.  Tied 7-7, the Owls scored nine of the next 11 points for a 16-9 edge.  The visitors did not stop there, as after RIC got within six, another burst, this time 9-1 concluding with Wilson setting up Elizabeth Johnson, gave KSC a 25-11 third set win.

Service Aces

• McLoughlin, who was 25th nationally in total kills as of September 19, has double-digit kills in six consecutive matches and is hitting .252 on the season.
• As of that same aforementioned date, Wilson and Mathieu were each ninth in the country in total assists and total digs, respectively.
• Keene State is 21-8 all-time against Rhode Island College.

Up Next

• The Owls host Worcester State University (3-7) on Tuesday, September 24 at 7:00 pm. 
• Rhode Island College travels to Becker College (5-6) on the same night and time.