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Monday, October 02, 2023 — Houston, TX

Sports

SPORTS 10/4/22 11:28pm

Football looks to be turning a corner, but real test is still ahead

By Daniel Schrager

The past few weeks have been as encouraging of a stretch as Rice football has had in a long time. First they beat the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to end what was then the longest active winning streak in college football. They then went toe-to-toe with a University of Houston team that started the season ranked No. 24. Finally, over the weekend, they beat perennial Conference USA contenders University of Alabama at Birmingham for the second straight year.

SPORTS 10/4/22 11:27pm

Late free kick sinks soccer against A&M, snaps win streak

By Pavithr Goli

The Rice soccer team lost 1-0 to Texas A&M University on Sunday night, dropping the team to 6-7 — the most losses the program has seen since head coach Brian Lee’s tenure began in 2019. Entering the game with a four-game winning streak since beginning conference play, the loss away from home rounds out the Owls’ non-conference schedule. Despite the loss, Lee was proud of the way the team fought and is optimistic about the rest of the regular season schedule.

SPORTS 10/4/22 11:25pm

Doubles duo Diae and Maria look to build on No. 16 ranking

By Reed Myers

Hailing from Casablanca, Morocco, and Bristol, United Kingdom, fifth-year Diae El Jardi and senior Maria Budin have joined forces in Houston, Texas, to become the No. 16 doubles team in the country. The duo capped off an impressive season last year with a doubles record of 14-5, earning the No. 22 doubles ranking to finish the year and making it to the NCAA Women’s Doubles Championship. According to El Jardi, their first taste of the NCAA postseason was met with some initial nerves. 

SPORTS 9/27/22 11:43pm

New approach might make volleyball more dangerous

By Daniel Schrager

The idea that losing a key player can make a team better – often called “addition by subtraction” – has been at the center of many a hot take over the years. At first glance, the Rice volleyball team would appear to have a case of addition by subtraction on their hands this season. After losing their all-time kills leader, outside hitter Nicole Lennon, the team has somehow gotten better this season.

SPORTS 9/27/22 11:42pm

Soccer’s new system might be key to a tournament run

By Diego Palos Rodriguez

Although Rice soccer is coming off three straight wins to start conference play, their struggles early in the season are notable enough to cast doubts. While the Owls went up against and lost to some of the best teams in the NCAA, such as No. 8 Florida State University and No. 23 Southern Methodist University, they also struggled against much weaker opponents such as Samford University and Loyola University Maryland. Formation changes and familiarity with the system seem to be having a positive impact on the quality of play at the start of conference play, but will it be enough to guide them past the Conference-USA and toward the NCAA Tournament glory seen less than two years ago?

SPORTS 9/27/22 11:41pm

Anota Adekunle redefines what it means to be a middle blocker

By Cadan Hanson

The middle blocker position is known for what its name implies: blocking the middle. Middle blockers are usually the first line of defense, quickly reading and blocking up the opposing team’s attacks. But Anota Adekunle, a fifth-year senior from Humble, Texas, transcends the typical middle blocker role by adding a strong offensive presence in addition to her defense. When asked about the position she’s played since middle school, Adekunle said that the middle blockers’ role is usually to act as a distraction on offense.

SPORTS 9/27/22 11:39pm

Close but no Bucket: Owls lose back-and-forth battle with UH

By Pavithr Goli

Rice football lost their seventh-straight Bayou Bucket Classic to the University of Houston on Saturday night by a score of 34-27. The back-and-forth affair with the Cougars dropped the Owls to 2-2 on the year. Head coach Mike Bloomgren said that regardless of the result, he is very happy with the effort his staff and players put into the game.

SPORTS 9/21/22 12:23am

50 years later, Rice’s first Black student-athletes reflect on their impact

By Daniel Schrager

Stahlé Vincent came back to Rice over the weekend. But this time, he got a different reception than he did when he first set foot on campus over five decades ago. “[When I first got here] there was not an open-arm reception,” Vincient said. “There were people who never spoke [to me], people avoided me, I had professors who wouldn’t call my name at roll. There was an animus there that you could feel.”

SPORTS 9/21/22 12:20am

After 350 wins, Volpe still isn’t thinking about her legacy

By Landry Wood

During her 19-year tenure, Rice volleyball head coach Genny Volpe has led the Owls to seven NCAA tournaments, two conference championships, 14 winning seasons and, as of Aug. 26’s victory over the University of Houston, 350 wins. With the Owls back in the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s top 25 as of Monday, those numbers seem poised to keep improving. This is a flooring amount of success for a program that had never even been to the tournament until Volpe was hired, but she is far from willing to take sole credit. 

SPORTS 9/21/22 12:17am

Volleyball upsets No. 17 Creighton, jumps into top-25

By Cadan Hanson

On Sunday, a flock of birds rose victorious above Tudor fieldhouse and it wasn’t a band of blue jays. After five intense sets, the Owls team took down No. 17 Creighton University on a second match point, capping off a tournament which started off with a reverse sweep of Big 12 opponent Kansas State University. After missing out on the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Top 25 last week by one spot, the defining weekend was enough to jump the Rice volleyball team to No. 23 on the rankings. 

SPORTS 9/21/22 12:14am

Owls put an end to longest winning streak in college football

By Pavithr Goli

The Rice football team broke the nation’s longest winning streak when they defeated the University of Louisiana at Lafayette 33-21 on Saturday night. The Ragin’ Cajuns had won 15 straight games, going back to last season, before their trip to Rice Stadium over the weekend. The victory against the Ragin’ Cajuns puts the Owls at 2-1 on the season as they head into their last week of non-conference play. Head coach Mike Bloomgren said that the upset win felt like a reward for the hard work that he and his team have put in.

SPORTS 9/13/22 11:40pm

Volleyball takes down undefeated Texas Tech, improves to 8-1

By Daniel Schrager

Up 13-12 in the fifth set against a then-undefeated Texas Tech University team, fifth-year senior middle blocker Anota Adekunle took the game into her own hands. First, the three time first-team all conference selection put an end to a long rally that saw Texas Tech threatening to tie with an emphatic kill to bring match point. Then, she rose above the net to stop a Tech attack in its tracks and seal the comeback win for the Owls. According to Adekunle, she knew that if she stayed at the net, she would find herself in the right place at the right time.

SPORTS 9/13/22 11:39pm

After off-court obstacles, volleyball’s Graham is set for success

By Reed Myers

Carly Graham, the Owls’ fifth year setter, is no stranger to the spotlight. She is a two-time C-USA Setter of the Year and was named to the U.S. Women’s Collegiate National Team last spring. With such an accomplished career, it’s hard to believe that just a few years ago, on the eve of her sophomore season, Graham was in the Intensive Care Unit in the Texas Medical Center receiving a life-altering diagnosis. 

SPORTS 9/13/22 11:37pm

Not because it’s hard: Football beats FCS’s McNeese on the anniversary of JFK speech

By Pavithr Goli

Rice football recorded their first win of the season last weekend when they defeated McNeese State University 52-10 in their home opener. The Owls are now 1-1 on the season, with Saturday’s win being a part of the festivities commemorating the 60th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s speech at Rice Stadium. According to head coach Mike Bloomgren, the Owls played well against the Cowboys but are not close to their full potential. 

SPORTS 9/13/22 11:36pm

Soccer blown out by NCAA champs FSU to close non-conferences

By Diego Palos Rodriguez

The Rice soccer team ended non-conference play with a bang. That is, they were blown away by last season’s national champions, Florida State University, in a firm 5-0 loss in front of the home crowd. The game marked the end of the team’s non-conference matches, which saw them finish with a 2-6 record and a three game losing streak. Head coach Brian Lee, however, emphasized that their expectations have not changed from the beginning of the season.

SPORTS 9/10/22 12:29pm

Soccer to host defending champs Florida State on Sunday

By Pavithr Goli

The Rice soccer team will face a tough test this Sunday when they host the reigning national champions, No. 8 Florida State University. After starting their season 1-0-2, with the pair of draws coming against top-20 opponents, the Seminoles have won each of their last two games by a score of 5-0.

SPORTS 9/6/22 11:23pm

Soccer beats HBU, loses ‘Bayou Cup’ to UH

By Diego Palos Rodriguez

Airfare was kept to a minimum over the weekend, as the Rice soccer team played a pair of games against crosstown rivals. The Owls got their second win of the season last Thursday when they beat Houston Baptist University 1-0. On Sunday, the Owls fell to the University of Houston 3-1, in a match that should henceforth be referred to as the ‘Bayou Cup.’ According to head coach Brian Lee, the year is still young, and he’s enjoyed seeing newer players step up when they’ve been called on.

SPORTS 9/6/22 11:20pm

Volleyball loses five set back-and-forth battle with No. 18 Oregon

By Cadan Hanson

After receiving the 30th most votes in last week’s American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, the Rice volleyball team narrowly missed an opportunity to cement their top-25 status in a  nail biting loss to No.18 University of Oregon . After winning the first set, the Owls fought off an Oregon comeback to force a fifth set, where they lost 15-11. Following the loss, head coach Genny Volpe said that she was pleased with the performance against such a high caliber team.

SPORTS 9/6/22 11:16pm

Pick 66: Tipped passes, turnovers and tackling woes doom Owls in opener against No. 14 USC

By Daniel Schrager

At least they might be the answer to a trivia question someday. The Rice football team lost their opener to No. 14 University of Southern California on Saturday by a score of 66-14. But if new Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley leads the fallen powerhouse back to its former heights as is widely expected, maybe some lucky fan ten years from now will win a round of shots for the table by remembering that his first opponent was the Owls.

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