Rice University’s Student Newspaper — Since 1916

Tuesday, April 23, 2024 — Houston, TX

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San Francisco sweep jumpstarts volleyball season

(09/11/09 12:00am)

The good times kept rolling for the volleyball team as the Owls thrashed three opponents over the weekend in the University of San Francisco Challenge. The victories improved the Owls' record to 7-1, cementing their status as the Conference USA favorites as the season goes into full tilt. With their impressive record in tow, the Owls now look forward to the second Mizuno Invitational, a tournament they will host at Tudor Fieldhouse this coming weekend. Rice opens today against the University of South Carolina, which comes in with an unblemished 6-0 record. Rice will then start their Saturday against Harvard University (2-2) before facing Wichita State University in the evening.


Volleyball picks up early wins at Mizuno

(09/04/09 12:00am)

If the first weekend of the volleyball team's season is an indication of the rest of the season, the Owls can mark their calendars for the NCAA tournament. Rice (4-1) opened its season with a bang, winning three of its first four matches in its own Mizuno Invitational, with the lone defeat coming at the hands of the University of Oklahoma. The Owls tacked on a victory against Sam Houston State on Tuesday. Rice played stellar defense throughout the matches, notching 32 blocks and 340 digs in the five matches. Furthermore, their hitting efficiency was on target with what they expected. Nonetheless, the Mizuno Invitational gave the team some areas they need to work on. In addition to their communication and movement, the Owls will look to improve their service game and blocking in practice before they head to San Francisco to continue their season this weekend.



Rice Volleyball 2009

(08/28/09 12:00am)

With their season abruptly snuffed out by Wichita State University last year, the volleyball squad may have hung its head, dragged its feet and kept a frown as the offseason began. Instead, the team saw its loss, which came in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, as the end to an unabashed success. Not only did the team finish third in Conference USA, but they also made it to the Big Dance, their first appearance in four years.


Golf ends season on sour note

(05/15/09 12:00am)

The golf team's final event concluded much like their season did: disappointingly. The Owls jumped out to a hot start at the Conference USA tournament last month, but a poor second round meant the team would record a below-expected finish for the third straight year. The C-USA Tournament was held at the Red Tail Golf Club in Sorrento, Fla. and hosted by the University of Central Florida. The Owls posted a last-place finish at the 2008 C-USA Tournament, but headed into this year's tournament with optimism over their prospects.


Despite strong round from Brown, Owls struggle at River Landing

(04/17/09 12:00am)

No matter the course or the competition, the golf team seems unable to climb out from the bottom of the board. Rice's disappointing spring season continued with a low finish at the River Landing Intercollegiate this week. Despite the poor team performance, junior Chris Brown provided a semblance of achievement, as his performance at River Landing now has him in the Rice golf record book with the lowest career scoring average and most rounds shooting par or under.


Golf falters to 17th at Morris Intercollegiate

(04/10/09 12:00am)

Two weeks ago in Austin, Texas, the golf team played against one of their toughest fields yet, posting a 17th-place finish at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate. Along with the stiff competition, the tournament boasted the University of Texas Golf Club's long course and windy conditions, two factors that combined to produce a disappointing finish for the Owls. The Owls head to Wallace, N.C., to play in the River Landing Intercollegiate, the team's penultimate tournament of the year, hosted by North Carolina State University. The field at River Landing Country Club will include Duke University, the University of Virginia, Wake Forest University and the University of Maryland. Though the Owls do not have a chance of making the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team, they still look to finish strong and possibly earn an automatic bid at the conference tournament.


Golf team places 10th at Border

(03/20/09 12:00am)

Fighting cold temperatures, gusting winds and driving rain all three rounds, the golf team gutted out a 10th-place finish in one of the strongest fields they have faced all year. Rice's three-round score of 902 (+38) tied the Owls with 36th-ranked Vanderbilt University at the Border Olympics, held this week in Laredo, Texas. The Owls next travel to Austin for the Morris Williams Intercollegiate, which runs March 30-31. The tournament, hosted by the University of Texas, features a field headlined by third-ranked Oklahoma State University, Southern Methodist University and Texas A&M University. The Owls have 15 days between tournaments and will look to use the time to try and regroup as a team following a period in which they played two tournaments in six days.


Golf finishes second at home

(02/20/09 12:00am)

It has been eleven years since the golf team has finished in second place or better in competition, a near-eternity in college sports. But finally, the streak is over. The Owls overcame a subpar start with a strong finish to place second in the Rice Intercollegiate, the team's only home event of the year, which ran from Monday through Tuesday. The tournament, held at Westwood Golf Club, saw Rice shoot a final round even-par 288 to finish only two shots behind tournament champion University of the Pacific. Three of Rice's golfers placed in the top 13 of the individual portion of the tournament.


Golf falters in Arizona Tournament

(02/06/09 12:00am)

The Rice golf team stumbled out of the blocks this spring, finishing 15th out of a field of 17 at the Arizona Intercollegiate in Tuscon, Ariz. Despite high expectations and strong finish in the fall, Rice shot an opening round 313 (+29) from which they could not recover. The Owls improved their scores in the final two rounds but were unable to climb onto the leaderboard.Rice will now turn its attention to its home event, the Rice Intercollegiate, on Feb. 16-17. The Owls will hold the ninth annual edition of its tournament at the Westwood Golf Club and will host a field that includes North Carolina State University, the University of the Pacific and Houston Baptist University. NC State will be one of the strongest squads in the tournament, as it is ranked nationally in the top 25 and also boasts one of the nation's top individual golfers in fifth-ranked sophomore Matt Hill. Rice will be looking to overcome the Wolfpack and bounce back from its disappointing result at the Arizona tournament.


2009 Golf Preview

(01/30/09 12:00am)

There's a reason teams play more than one match during a season: individual competitions alone do not determine a team's fate. Luckily for the men's golf team, disappointing finishes in three of the five fall tournaments did not eliminate them from postseason eligibility. Thus, the golf team hopes to build upon the fall's strong finish to create a repertoire that qualifies them for the NCAA championships. The golf team struggled with inconsistency and injuries throughout the 2007-'08 season. A lack of depth plagued the Owls, as an injury to then-junior Erik Petersen and the departure of another team member prevented them from fielding a consistent five-member group. While the team was not having a successful year to begin with, their performance in the Conference USA tournament, where they finished in 11th place, finally marked the season as a disappointment.


Volleyball earns first-round bye for C-USA tournament

(11/21/08 12:00am)

The volleyball team entered last Thursday's match against the University of Houston riding high, having won 11 of their last 12. Instead of continuing their winning ways, the University of Houston upset Rice. The loss to Houston dropped Rice to third in the final Conference USA standings, meaning the Owls will have the third seed in the upcoming C-USA Tournament. The tournament began Thursday and concludes with the final on Sunday in Memphis, Tenn. Rice does not play on the tournament's opening day due to their place in the top four of the C-USA standings. Head coach Genny Volpe thought the bye would be extremely beneficial to the team's tournament chances.


Volleyball defeats Conference USA leader UAB

(11/14/08 12:00am)

The volleyball team notched their biggest victory of the season on Friday afternoon, defeating University of Alabama-Birmingham in a five-set thriller. The Owls followed up their victory with a three-set win over the University of Memphis, giving the Owls a pair of important conference victories. The Owls wrapped up their regular season last night against the University of Houston, which sat directly behind Rice in the Conference USA standings. The Owls had already defeated the Cougars once before this season in four sets.


Volleyball beats long-time foe

(11/07/08 12:00am)

Avenging three straight seasons of defeat at the hands of the University of Tulsa, the volleyball team overcame the Golden Hurricane in five sets on Friday night. The Owls followed that victory with another over Southern Methodist University on Sunday. The players now turn their attention to Friday's contest against the University of Alabama-Birmingham at 4 p.m. at the Fox Gymnasium. The game could have a big impact on the final Conference USA volleyball standings, since the Blazers are currently perched at the top of the ladder with a 12-1 conference record. Rice, which is currently third with a 10-3 record, can cut its two-game deficit in half with a victory over UAB. All that aside, however, head coach Genny Volpe said she wants her team to approach the Blazers as they would any other opponent.


Owls' streak stopped at six with Tulane loss

(10/31/08 12:00am)

Riding a six-game winning streak, the volleyball team faced Tulane University, their stiffest opponent of the season, on Friday. The Green Wave broke the Owls' streak in a hard-fought, five-set match. However, Rice was able to bounce back on Sunday, taking out the University of Texas- El Paso in three sets to cap off a split weekend, their first since the beginning of October. Rice plays a pair of Conference USA road matches this weekend, beginning Friday night at 7 p.m. against the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Okla. Tulsa sits in fourth place in the conference, right behind Rice, and a Golden Hurricane victory would create a tie for third place. The match will also be a chance for the Owls to exact revenge for a five-set loss to Tulsa on Oct. 5. Senior outside hitter Jessica Holderness said she expects a competitive match.


Volleyball extends win streak to six

(10/24/08 12:00am)

The Rice volleyball team headed into the weekend expecting to take two matches from the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Central Florida, but they did not expect to win both matches in three sets. The relatively painless pair of conference victories extended the Owls' win streak to five matches. Rice continues its home stand on Friday night against the Tulane University, which is second in Conference USA with a 7-1 conference record. The match begins at 7 p.m. and promises to be a big test for the streaking Owls. The squad then faces the University of Texas-El Paso at 1 p.m. Sunday. Rice has already defeated UTEP once this year and looks to finish the season sweep of the Miners, which are currently in eleventh place in C-USA. Despite UTEP's record, head coach Genny Volpe expects a challenging pair of matches.


Volleyball downs SMU and McNeese State in three sets, falls to Tulsa in five

(10/10/08 12:00am)

For the second weekend in a row, the volleyball team entered the weekend with high expectations only to emerge with a split, earning a victory over Southern Methodist University but taking a difficult loss to a strong University of Tulsa team. Rice rebounded with a three-set sweep of McNeese State University Tuesday night. The Owls hit the road again as conference play continues on Friday night against the University of Marshall. The match will be at 6 p.m. in Huntington, W. Va. From there, Rice travels to Greenville, N.C., to take on East Carolina at 11 a.m. on Sunday. East Carolina and Marshall, both with 1-4 records, are the 11th and 12th place teams in Conference USA, respectively. Rice lost to Marshall 3-1 the only time the two squads faced off in 2007. The Owls will be looking for revenge against East Carolina, which also defeated Rice in 2007.


Volleyball sweeps tournament for landmark win

(09/26/08 12:00am)

After three years of trying without success to come out on top in an in-season tournament, the volleyball team finally reached their goal in Ohio at the Best Western Invitational last weekend, recording their first tournament win since 2005. In what was a big weekend for the Owls, Rice defeated Hofstra University 3-1 on Friday night and swept Saturday's matches over Bowling Green State University and Binghamton University by 3-1 and 3-0 scores, respectively. Rice looks to build upon last weekend's performance as they open the conference season against the University of Texas-El Paso on Friday at 8 p.m. in El Paso. Coach Genny Volpe plans to caution her team against looking ahead of UTEP to Sunday's match against Tulane University in New Orleans at 1 p.m.