Volleyball opens C-USA slate with wins

By Paul Fitzgerald     10/1/09 7:00pm

The volleyball team entered the season with the self-proclaimed goal of winning Conference USA. With two victories in their first two conference matches last weekend, the Owls (10-3, 2-0 C-USA) may very well be on their way to the C-USA crown, something the program has never accomplished. Rice continues conference play tonight when it hosts the University of Texas-El Paso at Tudor Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. UTEP currently sports a 9-7 record and swept their first two conference games last weekend, beating the University of Tulsa (10-5, 0-2 C-USA) and Southern Methodist University (10-6, 0-2 C-USA). The Owls will then take on Tulane University on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., also at Tudor. Rice has not had much success in recent years against Tulane (7-4, 3-0 C-USA), as it has not defeated the Green Wave since 2005.

Despite their troubles, junior setter and C-USA Co-Setter of the Week Meredith Schamun insists Tulane does not have any psychological edge over the Owls.

"We've been playing so well lately that this won't be a mental game," Schamun said. "Whichever team comes out the strongest and executes the best will win the match."

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Rice will then continue play on Wednesday evening when they travel across town to take on rival University of Houston. The Cougars have stumbled their way to a 4-13 record and 1-1 in conference, but the game promises to have the same level of competition found when any Houston-Rice squad faces off.

But the Owls hope the game against the Cougars will have as much succinctness as did their Friday evening contest against the University of Memphis. On the road, the Owls handily defeated the Tigers (2-14, 0-3 C-USA) in three sets (25-16, 25-22, 25-23) for their second win in the last three matches.

While the second set ran closer than the first, Rice came up big when it mattered, scoring the final four points of the set, two of which came from kills by outside hitter Ashleigh McCord. The sophomore has recently been hit hard by the flu, but her play this weekend was a big boost for the Owls.

The third set was as close as the second, but McCord came up big for Rice yet again, notching the kill, her 12th of the match, that ended the set and the match. In addition to McCord's strong game, senior outside hitters Jess Boulavsky and Jenn McClean recorded double-digit kills for the Owls, with McClean also picking up 14 digs to lead the Owls.

While Rice was clearly the stronger team, it was imperative they come out with a strong focus against the less-talented Tigers. The previous weekend's play had been axed after a slew of Owls contracted the flu, meaning the team went two weeks without any competition. But whatever rust remained in Memphis was easily sloughed off, and Head Coach Genny Volpe thought her team's poise allowed them to take control of the match.

"Parts of the match were a bit sloppy, but the great thing about the Memphis win was that we stayed calm and confident," Volpe said. "Memphis was great at serving, and we made quite a few hitting errors, so it was great that we came together to pull out the match in three."

The Owls' contest on Sunday was not over quite as quickly, requiring an extra set, but the Owls still came out on top against the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a team they went 1-1 against last year. Rice was able to dispatch the Blazers (8-9, 2-1 C-USA) in four sets (25-16, 25-23, 23-25, 25-20), even more affirmation that the flu's problems stayed in Houston.

The victory was also the 100th of Volpe's five-year coaching career, yet another reason for Rice to celebrate.

The Owls closed the first set with a 10-2 run to take the early lead. Senior middle blocker Natalie Bogan recorded six kills, while McClean's four led an impressive Rice attack. The second set was much closer, but two late kills by McClean and one by McCord closed out the set and put the Owls a set from victory.

Rice battled back from an early deficit in the third set but could not finish out the game as UAB forced a fourth frame. Schamun had 10 assists during the set, and her 58 assists more than aided the Owls' attack.

While Schamun played particularly well, she gave credit to junior libero Tracey Lam's play.

"Tracey stepped up her game against UAB with great passes and great digs," Schamun said. "I was able to run the outside, middle and right side because all of her passes were great."

Schamun saved her best play for the last set, when she recorded 18 assists. Rice opened up a small advantage midway through the set and held that advantage throughout until a McClean kill ended the match. In addition to McClean's 15 kills, McCord slammed a team-leading 18.

Once again, the Owls executed their offense well while effectively countering the Blazers, who run an offense similar to Rice's. The Owls appeared ready for what the Blazers tried to throw at them, and consequently emerged from the weekend with a perfect conference record, something Volpe feels will make a big difference for her team in the long run.

"In the preseason, you play so many different offenses that you never know how you'll start off in the conference," Volpe said. "A 2-0 start, especially on the road, was big for our confidence and the team's maturity, especially after the effect the flu had on us.

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