Volleyball traps Cougars
The pomp and circumstance for the seniors last weekend could have ended with the flowers. It could have ended with the pre-game standing ovations, or with the hugs from family members, or the memories of four years past. Instead, it ended with a near-effortless 3-0 victory over the University of Houston, which, all things considered, was perhaps the best way to send off one of the strongest senior classes Rice has seen in recent memory.
However, the team hopes it will not be the seniors' final win at Tudor Fieldhouse, which will be hosting the upcoming Conference USA Tournament this weekend.
Riding a four-match winning streak, the Owls (19-8, 11-5 C-USA) entered their matchup with Houston (9-22, 6-10 C-USA) looking for a dominating victory to conclude conference play. While the Cougars were competitive in all three sets, Rice's execution allowed the team to win their rivalry game in the minimum amount of sets (25-20, 25-22, 25-20).
The Owls opened the match on a 5-1 run and maintained a slim advantage until the Cougars evened things up at 19. Rice responded with a 6-1 run to take the opening frame, capped by one of senior outside hitter Jenn McClean's eight kills.
The second set started closer than the first, with neither team taking a lead of more than three points until the Owls took a 20-16 lead. Senior outside hitter Natalie Bogan contributed a kill and a deciding block to end the set, giving Rice a 2-0 advantage. Bogan notched 10 kills for the match, second to sophomore outside hitter Ashleigh McCord's 11 kills. The two both hit over .400, the highest percentages on either team.
Looking to finish off its rival, Rice began the third set on a 6-2 run, but Houston fought back to tie the match up early. However, the Owls responded with a 5-0 spurt of their own, effectively putting the Cougars away.
A kill by McCord off an assist by junior setter Meredith Schamun completed the three-set sweep of the Cougars. The assist with Schamun's 36th of the match, and her performance against Houston earned her C-USA Setter of the Week honors, the third time Schamun has earned the award this season.
"[Schamun] works hard and loves to win, and it shows in her stats," Bogan said. "We are fortunate to have great offensive and defensive players, and Meredith's role as a setter helps to connect those pieces."
In addition to her 36 assists, Schamun was one of four Owls with double-digit digs. Junior libero Tracey Lam was another of the four, as her 20 digs led a strong performance by Rice's defense. Lam was named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week, the third time she has garnered the honor this season and the ninth of her career. While the Owls' defensive performance was key to stopping Houston's attack, Bogan also thought it aided Rice's offense as well.
"Defense is one of the biggest parts of Rice volleyball," Bogan said. "Without our defense, we wouldn't be able to run a lot of our offensive plays."
While the seniors certainly appreciated the senior night victory, Head Coach Genny Volpe believes they understand there is still work to be done, especially if they are to improve over last year's loss in the seminfinals of the C-USA tournament.
"All four [seniors] have been a big part of the team for all four years they've been here, and winning on senior night was the icing on the cake," Volpe said. "It was a great way to honor them with that type of win, but they all want to go out with a conference championship on their home court."
The Owls will enter the tournament, which begins today at noon at Tudor Fieldhouse, as the fourth seed. Rice will begin the postseason against fifth-seeded Marshall University (22-8, 10-6 C-USA), which the Owls downed at Tudor on Halloween Night.
While Rice might be content with its performance to date, it is well aware that its performance now is what really counts. The team had aspirations of winning a regular-season conference championship, a goal that they were not able to complete. However, their ultimate goal of a NCAA Tournament appearance is still well within reach, and winning a conference championship at Tudor would be a terrific sendoff for Rice's seniors.
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