Volleyball begins 2022 campaign hosting Rhode Island, Air Force and Siena

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Brown volleyball returns to the court for the first time in 2022 hosting a tournament over the weekend. The Bears will take on Rhode Island on Friday (Sept. 3) before playing Air Force and Siena on Saturday (Sept. 4).

The Bears first matchup of the season is set to begin at 7 p.m. against the Rams. The first 2,000 fans to the game will receive a t-shirt and before the game, last year's Ivy League champions will be honored with a ring ceremony.

On Saturday, Brown will first play Air Force at 10:30 a.m. before closing out play on the weekend against Siena at 7 p.m.

All three games for Brown will be streamed on ESPN+.

Scouting the Bears:

Brown played in its first NCAA Tournament since 1998 after winning the Ivy League title, falling to Washington in the first round of the tournament. The Bears finished with a school-record 13 wins during Ivy League play. Brown ended its season winnning 18-straight sets during league play.
Brown became the second team in Ivy League history to win all four major Ivy League season awards. Sophomore setter Cierra Jenkins was named Player of the Year, Beau Vanderlaan was named Rookie of the Year, Victoria Vo was named Defensive Player of the Year and Ahen Kim was named Coach of the Year.
Jenkins, Vanderlaan and Vo were joined by Sophia Miller and Kate Sheire on the First Team All-Ivy. Brown became the first school in Ivy League history to have five players named First Team All-Ivy.
Jenkins was the first Bear to win Ivy League Player of the Year since 2001 and just the third overall. The setter from Orlando, Fla. finished third in the league with 10.12 assists per set, the highest number for a Bear going back to 2012.
Vanderlaan, a freshman from Oak Park, Ill., was a dominant presence in the middle for Brown on her way to being named Rookie of the Year. Vanderlaan led the Ivy League with a .388 hitting percentage and increased that number to .410 during Ivy League play. Vanderalaan also led Brown with 91 blocks, which was the second-highest total in the Ivy League. Vanderlaan is the second-straight player to win Rookie of the Year for Brown after Sophia Miller won the award in 2019.
Vo earned Defensive Player of the Year as a freshman, finishing third in the league with 4.71 digs per set and jumping that number to 5.22 per set during league play. Vo transitioned to libero after four matches and recorded double-digit digs in every match after making the switch. Vo became the first freshman in Ivy League history to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors.
The Bears are bringing back a stellar lineup as Brown returns a roster that earned over 99% of its kills, 98% of its assists and 94% of its assists from a year ago.

SCOUTING THE RAMS

Rhode Island dropped all three matches to begin its season at the Maryland Invite. The Rams fell to Maryland in straight sets to start the season before losing in four sets to Florida Gulf Coast and Navy.
The Rams hit just .099 as a team in their first three games and averaged just 8.7 kills per set. Claire Wagner leads the team with 3.36 kills per set but no other player is averaging more than 1.55 kills per set.
Katie Butler is guiding the offense with 6.55 assists per set.
On defense, Abby Fillion leads the team with 3.64 digs per set and Hannah Blaney is second on the team at 3.00 per set.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS

Air Force earned wins in all three games of the first weekend of the season beating Texas A&M Commerce, Cal State Northridge and Drake. After sweeping Texas A&M Commerce, both of the last two matches in the weekend went five sets.
The Falcons outhit their opponents .246 to .158 over the weekend, with the top-two hitters for Air Force hitting over .420.
Joi Harvey led Air Force with 2.85 kills per set and hit .433. BrookeLyn Messenger was second on the team with 2.54 kills per set and hit .422.
The Falcons dominated at the net with 3.31 blocks per set, led by Harvey with 2.00 per set.

SCOUTING THE SAINTS

Siena began its season losing all three games in straight sets at the Bearcat Classic hosted by Binghamton last weekend, falling to Boston College, Maryland Eastern Shore and Binghamton.
Sara Wagner leads Siena with 2.78 kills per set and Emily Wunder and Olga Sawinska follow at 2.44 and 2.43 kills per set, respectively.
Siena used a two-setter offense in the first weekend with Meghan Johnsson (4.43 assists/set) and Claire Isaksen (4.22 assists/set) splitting duties.
The Saints allowed their three opponents to hit .302 while hitting just .116 as a squad to open the season.

SERIES HISTORY

Brown and Rhode Island will be meeting for the 27^th time with Rhode Island holding a 19-7 advantage in the series. The last meeting was a 3-0 win by Rhode Island back in 2015
This will be the first meeting between Brown and Air Force and the fifth meeting between Brown and Siena. The Bears are 4-0 all time against the Saints.