The Canisius College volleyball team lost its first two matches at the Art Carmichael Invitational on Friday, in Kingston, R.I. The Golden Griffins lost 25-14, 25-17, 25-17 to Seton Hall and then fell 24-26, 21-25, 25-20, 25-19, 15-9 to host Rhode Island, falling to 2-7 on the season.

Rhode Island 3, Canisius 2

Junior Emily Elek and senior Logan Sulongga each led Canisius with 16 kills on the match, with Elek not committing an error on 40 attack attempts. Junior Roxanne Hernandez posted 10 kills to go along with a .369 attack percentage. Senior Samantha Good had a team-best five blocks while senior Allyson Severyn led Canisius with 37 digs.

"We played pretty well early in the match, but we continue to struggle in the middle part," Canisius coach Cathy Hummel said. "That middle portion can really swing momentum, and Rhode Island took advantage tonight."

The teams played a tight first set, with Canisius building an 18-15 lead after a quick three-point spurt that included two kills from Sulongga. The Rams responded with three points to even the score at 18-18. Rhode Island extended its run and went up 24-21. The Griffs would fight off three set points and won the final five points of the set to go up 1-0 in the match.

The teams were tied at 16-16 in the second set before Canisius scored back-to-back points, going up 18-16 after a Rhode Island error. The Griffs wouldn't give up that lead the rest of the set and went up 2-0 in the match.

Canisius went up 3-0 early in the third set and eventually led 11-7. Rhode Island then scored four straight points and also tied the score at 15-15. Rhode Island would go on to score five of the last seven points to win the third set. The Rams led 14-10 in the fourth set and Canisius could only get as close as two points as Rhode Island forced a fifth set.

The Rams carried over that momentum to the fifth set, scoring six straight points after the Griffs won the opening point of the set. Canisius could never cut into the Rhode Island lead as the Rams completed the comeback.

Seton Hall 3, Canisius 0

Seton Hall easily won the first set, taking the opening six points and not looking back. The Pirates jumped out to leads of 3-0 and 11-4 in the second set. Canisius cut the deficit to 20-16, using an 8-2 run to get back into the set. However, Seton Hall won the final three points to go up 2-0 in the match. The Pirates went on a 5-0 run early in the third set, to push a 7-5 lead to a 12-5 lead and eventually close out the match.

"Unfortunately against a fast and athletic Seton Hall team, our effort and ability weren't reflective of our capabilities and we struggled against a good team," Hummel said.

Canisius concludes play in the Art Carmichael Invitational on Saturday, against Hartford. Match time is set for noon.

Notes: Sulongga had double-digit kills for the first time as a Golden Griffin... Freshman Grace Streicher had 16 assists against Rhode Island, the third time in the last five matches she has had 16 or more assists... Severyn set a season-high with the 33 digs and had 30-plus digs for the fifth time in her career... Junior Jessica Warner recorded 16 digs, totaling double-digit digs for the fifth time in the last seven matches... Elek had 23 kills and one attack error on the day... Hernandez hit above .200 for the first time in the last six matches... The 16 kills by Elek are the most by a Golden Griffin without an error since Michella Domo had 16 kills on Oct. 28, 2007, against Rider.