Volleyball:Weekly Notes; Owls vs. Houston/at UTEP
11/2/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
On Wednesday, Nov. 3, 1999, at 7:30 pm at Autry Court (5,000) Rice will face Houston.
at Texas-El Paso (5-17, 3-6)
On Saturday, Nov. 6, 1999 at 4 pm at Memorial Gym (5,500) in El Paso, Rice will face UTEP One non-conference and one conference match.
Series
Rice is behind in the series with Houston 5-48, and leads the series with UTEP 4-3.
Rice's Probable Starting Lineup (1999 per game averages)
RICE OWLS 1999 RECORD (10-16, 1-7)
S 2 Soleil Thon 5-6, Sr.-3L, Sugar Land 8.8a, 2.5d OH 3 Klara Zelinka 6-0, Jr.-2L, Houston 3.2k, 3.3d OH 7 Alison Broadfoot 6-0, So.-1L, Clear Lake 1.6k, 1.8d MB 4 Briana Cook 6-1, Fr.-HS, Houston 1.2b, 1.6k MB 14 Courtney Smith 6-0, So.-1L, San Diego, Calif. 1.5d, 1.2k OH 15 Kelly Smith 5-11, Sr.-3L, Edmond, Okla. 4.5k, 3.1d
Rice Versus The Field
The Owls will be at home this week for a non-conference match with cross-town rival Houston, before leaving for El Paso for a weekend meeting with conference foe UTEP. The Cougars have dominated the series with the Owls, allowing only five Rice victories in 53 matches. In 1998, the clash between the two went the distance with Houston capturing the 9-15, 15-13, 15-10, 12-15, 10-15 win. The Owls have faced the Miners already this season. UTEP won its third match in seven tries with Rice, taking the 13-15, 9-15, 14-16 win in Houston. UTEP is carrying a four-match conference losing streak, after dropping matches last weekend to Fresno State and San Jose State.
A Look Back
Despite the return of Leigh Leman and Michelle Craven, the rejuvenated Owls were unable to record wins, falling to SMU in the 15-11, 8-15, 8-15, 8-15 decision and dropping to TCU 11-15, 10-15, 15-13, 10-15. Kelly Smith led the Owls against the Mustangs, knocking down 16 kills. Klara Zelinka backed Smith with 11 kills and 17 digs. Courtney Smith added a career-high nine blocks to the defensive effort. Against TCU, it was Kelly Smith and Leman collaborating for Owl points. Each posted 19 kills and Smith added a career-high five service aces. Zelinka notched 16 kills and recorded a personal-best 23 digs. Soleil Thon and Mariel Davenport Pollockcombined for 56 assists, with 28 each.
Making History
Kelly Smith has been leaving her mark on the Rice record book all season, recording single match and career top-10's. As 1999 winds down, Smith is starting to climb her way up the season top 10 list. Having collected 1,079 attacks this year, Smith entered the attempts list at eighth and moved up to fourth in just one week. She needs 63 attacks to take over third and 268 to claim the title. Briana Cook has also entered the season top-10 at the bottom rung with 87 block assists.
Welcome Back
The SMU match marked the return to the court of Michelle Craven and Leigh Leman. Craven, who had been sidelined to recover from knee surgery, stepped back into the starting line-up for the Owls. Leman, who has been recuperating from an ankle injury, didn't enter the match until the second game. Although both played sparingly, Leman recorded three kills and seven digs and Craven added three digs. Against TCU, both proved that they were at full strength. Leman posted 19 kills and 19 digs and Craven added 10 digs.
WAC Facts
Klara Zelinka has returned to the top of the WAC dig list, as has the team. Zelinka is averaging 3.44 a game and the team has 17.92 per game. Rice is second in blocks with 2.59 a game and Briana Cook is third individually with 1.22. Kelly Smith is the service leader in conference matches with .64 aces a game against WAC opponents.