Rice University Athletics
Volleyball: Game Notes #7
10/9/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
October 10/13&14, 2000
Rice (13-5, 3-2) vs. UTSA (9-7)
The Owls will host the last of a four match home stand against the Roadrunners on Tuesday, October 10 at 7 p.m.
vs. SMU (9-7, 0-4)
Rice will travel to Dallas to face the Mustangs on Friday, October 13 at 7 p.m.
vs. TCU (10-9, 2-2)
The Owls finish their Dallas trip against TCU on Saturday, October 14 at 7 p.m.
Rice Coach Julio Morales
Morales (Puerto Rico, 1974; M.Ed., Houston, 1975; Ph.D., Maryland, 1991) is currently in his fifth year as head coach of the Owls... He is 126-88 overall in his 10 years as a head coach... He has compiled a 70-81 overall record in his years at the helm for the Owls... An internationally recognized coach, Morales has guided both mens and womens squads at the college and international level. As the head coach of the womens team at the University of Puerto Rico, Morales guided his alma mater to a 56-7 record over six seasons (1975-81). Along with his 88.9 winning percentage, he led his womens teams to four University Athletic League Championships. Morales also served a pair of stints as the head coach for the Gamecocks mens team, 1986-87 and 1992-95. As the mens coach, he tallied a 58-20 mark with a championship and four runner-up finishes. He is assisted by Jose Santiago (Puerto Rico, 1993; M.A., Indiana State, 1998), who is in his fifth year with the Owls, and Tiffany Carrethers (Rice University, 1998), who is in her first year with the Owls after spending the past year and a half with the United States Professional Volleyball League.
Rice's Probable Starting Lineup (2000 per game averages)
RICE OWLS 2000 RECORD (13-5, 3-2)
S 6 Nil Kalagoglu (kah-lah-OW-loo) 5-8, Jr.-2L, Istanbul, Turkey 11.7a, 2.9d
OH 3 Klara Zelinka (zuh-LINK-uh) 6-0, Sr.-3L, Houston 2.5k, 2.6d
DS 5 Michelle Craven 5-7, Jr. 2-L, Fort Worth 1.9d
OH 11 Leigh Leman (le-MAHN) 5-9, Jr.-2L, Magnolia 3.9k, 4.0d
MB 9 Elizabeth Davenport Pollock 6-0, So.-1L, Bethesda, Md. 1.7k, 1.4b
OH 12 Karolina Zelinka (zuh-LINK-uh) 6-0, Sr.-3L, Houston 4.1k, 3.4d
RICE BENCH
OH 1 Remi Aderohunmu (ah-DARE-uh-moo)5-10, Sr.-3L, Irving
OH 2 Rhonda Sigman 5-8, Fr.-HS, Spring, Texas
MB 4 Briana Cook (BRI-an-uh) 6-1, So.-1L, Houston 1.8k, 1.5b
OH 7 Alison Broadfoot 6-0, Jr.-2L, Clear Lake 0.5k, 0.5d
S 8 Mariel Davenport Pollock 6-0, So.-1L, Bethesda, Md. 2.5a, 0.5d
OH 10 Rebekah Neal 5-9, Fr.-HS, Paramount, Calif. 0.5k, 1.0d
OH 13 Allison Donohue 5-9, Fr.-HS, Los Gatos, Calif.
MB 14 Courtney Smith 6-0, Jr.-2L, San Diego, Calif. 1.0d, 0.5b
Rice Versus The Field
The Owls have faced UTSA five times, and have not lost a match to the Roadrunners. The last meeting between these two teams was in 1997 when Rice won in three straight sets. Against SMU, the series is tied at 4 matches apiece. In 1999, Rice lost to the Mustangs in both meetings, 1-3. The Owls lead the series against the Horned Frogs of TCU, 5-3. The Owls lost both meetings last year, 1-3.
A Look Back
The Owls are coming off a 1-1 week last week, losing to San Jose State on Friday night at home, and defeating Fresno State Saturday night, on Girl Scout Night at Autry Court. Rice needed to go the distance in both matches, losing 15-12, 15-11, 12-15, 6-15, 11-15 to the SJSU Spartans. Junior outside hitter Leigh Leman knocked down 23 kills on 61 attempts with nine errors (.230) for the Owls, while adding a career high 31 digs. Senior outside hitter Karolina Zelinka hit .137 (17-7-73) while hitting the court for 19 digs. As a team against San Jose State, Rice hit .159, served up seven service aces, tallied 20 total team blocks, and dug deep for 109 digs. Fresno State came to town on Saturday night, and again the Owls felt it necessary to take their game to five games. With the 15-4, 8-15, 15-2, 10-15, 15-8 victory, Rice improved to 13-5, 3-2 in conference play. Zelinka led the way for the Owls with 21 kills on 61 attempts and four errors. Leman recorded her fourth straight double-double with 11 kills and 22 digs. As a team Rice hit .293.
Record Watch
Records continue to break as the 2000 season rolls on for the Owls. Senior Karolina Zelinka now ranks third all-time at Rice with 1,007 career digs, and moves to 6th all-time in kills with 1, 287. Zelinka needs just 123 to break the all-time record of 1,130. Her sister Klara Zelinka has found her way into the top 10 in digs, ranking 9th with 888. The younger Zelinka needs just four block assists to move into 6th all-time at Rice. She currently has 245. Sophomore Briana Cook continues to play her way into the record book, and has moved to eighth all-time in total blocks with 230, right behind Klara Zelinka's 262. Cook is also tied for 9th with 31 solo blocks, and ranks eighth in block assists with 199. Junior Leigh Leman has cracked the top ten in digs, and stands at 9th with 855. Setter Nil Kalagoglu remains in third with 3,277 assists.
Opponent Outlook
Texas-San Antonio fell to Southwest Texas State 15-4, 15-12, 15-13 in a Southland Conference matchup last Tuesday, but needed only an hour to close the deal with Sam Houston State this past Friday, 15-2, 15-4, 15-4. Leading the Roadrunners this season is freshman middle blocker Charlsie Heifrin. Heifrin is hitting .326 (228-58-522) and has been named the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week twice this season. UTSA returns all six of their starters from last year's 22-7 squad. Head coach Katrinka Jo Crawford is in her fifth season at the helm of the Roadrunners, and owns a 401-349-2 overall record in her 20th year as a head coach.
The Southern Methodist University Mustangs have struggled in WAC play this year, and their woes continued with a 2-15, 13-15, 14-16 loss to Nevada Saturday night. The Mustangs are winless in its four conference matches, all of which have been played on the road. SMU is led by senior Kelly Klecka who is hitting .198 for the Mustangs (227-98-650). 1999 was the first 20-win season for SMU, in which they finished fourth in the WAC with a 20-13 record. Head coach Lisa Seifert is in her fifth year with the Mustangs, and owns a 56-73 record while at the helm of the Mustangs.
The Texas Christian Horned Frogs stand in fifth place in the WAC at 2-2 and are coming off a 3-0 loss to nationally ranked Hawaii. The Horned Frogs weren't able to get much going against the #2 Wahine, and were held to a .043 hitting percentage in the match. TCU finished their 1999 campaign fifth in the WAC with an 11-19 overall record, 5-9 in the conference. Head coach Samdu Trpidt is in her fifth season with the Horned Frogs and owns a 229-249 overall record in 15 seasons.
Home Sweet Home
Rice will end their four-match home stand this Tuesday against UTSA. Rice owns a 6-2 at home this year, with losses to Baylor at the Rice Invitational and this past weekends loss to San Jose State. The Owls return to Autry Court on Friday, October 20 when they look for redemption against Nevada. Nationally ranked Hawaii then visits Houston on Saturday, October 21. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m.
Rice in the WAC
The Owls currently sit in third place in the WAC at 3-2 behind Hawaii (4-0) and San Jose State (3-1). Rice continues to lead the conference in blocks with 230.5 total (3.39 per game), and ranks second in digs with 1169 (17.19 per game). With 110 service aces, Rice stands in third place behind UTEP and San Jose State. Individual Owls ranked in the conference include sophomores Briana Cook and Elizabeth Davenport Pollock who stand in second and third respectively in blocks. Briana has tallied 100 total blocks this season for a 1.49 per game average, and Elizabeth has 87 total for a 1.36 per game average. Senior Karolina Zelinka continues to lead the WAC in service aces with 31, while junior Nil Kalagoglu has racked up 28, good for third place in the league. Zelinka also cracks the top five in kills, with 277 (4.07 per game), and ranks third in digs with 231 (3.40 per game). Junior Leigh Leman is just ahead of her in second, with 271 digs (4.04 per game).
Double Dipping
Several Owls have notched double-doubles this year. Leading the way is senior Karolina Zelinka, who has 11 double-doubles (kills-digs) under her belt, her best being a 25 kill-18 dig showing against the University of Dayton at the Wisconsin Tournament. Her 25 kills is a season high. Junior Leigh Leman has recorded 10, including four straight in the last two weeks, and a 32 kill-21 dig outing against the Dayton Flyers. Setter Nil Kalagoglu has also notched 10 double-doubles, including a record breaking performance against Dayton when she recorded 85 assists and 22 digs. That assist mark is the best single-match performance ever by an Owl.
Meet the Owls
Our player spotlight this week is on sophomore middle blocker Elizabeth Davenport Pollock, senior outside hitter Klara Zelinka, and assistant coach, and former Owl, Tiffany Carrethers. Davenport Pollock is a 1999 graduate of Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland. She is a Political Science/Managerial Studies/History major at Rice, and chose Rice for sevearal reasons... the athletics, academics, and it's "away from home." Her twin sister Mariel is a setter for the Owls, and Liz (as she is known by her teammates) says playing with her sis is "Awesome! She's a built in support system, as well as someone who will criticize me when I'm doing something wrong, or compliment me when I do something right." They have always played together, and she "loves it!" Liz's favorite color is silver blue and she loves fresh baked bread. She plans to attend graduate school after she's done playing at Rice, and wants to be successful, but most of all happy. If Liz could go back in history and have dinner with someone - anyone - she would want to meet Queen Elizabeth because she's interesting, dynamic and was an effective leader. And, of course, they share the same name.
Previously, we met a Zelinka. Karolina Zelinka. This week we are introduced to her younger sister, Klara. She is a Health Science major who chose to attend Rice because of the academics and, more importantly, her sister plays here. They've always played together and Klara wouldn't know otherwise. She is a pretty simple young lady. Her favorite color is blue, and she loves all food. She couldn't pick just one. Her most memorable sports moment came her junior year in high school in a semi-final matchup with Elkins High. Her squad won, and it was a great game! If she could go back in time and have dinner with anyone, it would be her great-grandfather. He was an athlete, too, (an "awesome cyclist") and she thinks they would have a lot in common and get along well. With Klara, that's pretty easy to do.
Tiffany Carrethers is a 1998 graduate of Rice, where she played for head coach Julio Morales from 1994-1998. During her career as an Owl, she racked up 1,358 kills, third best at Rice; tallied 363 block assists to be the all time Rice leader; and had 939 digs to place her 8th in the career records standings. Tiffany graduated with a degree in health and exercise science, and played for a year in the United States Professional Volleyball League before returning to her alma mater as an assistant coach. Her favorite color is blue, and her favorite foods are steak and chinese. Tiffany says the best thing about college athletics is that you don't have anything to worry about except playing volleyball and concentrating on academics. She loves coaching because she's around the student-athletes and back in a college atmosphere. In five years she hopes to have her masters degree in public health, and be at the helm of her own squad as a head coach. In 1998 she was named national volleyball player of the week after the Owls defeated Wyoming and nationally ranked Colorado State. That was one of her most memorable sports moments. The other came this past May when her squad won the Millenium Cup after beating team Japan. Tiffany has proved herself on and off the court, and has a bright future as a coach ahead of her.
