Rice University
UAB
Rice Sweeps UAB
10/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 21, 2007
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- With solid performances from sophomores Natalie Bogan and Jessie Boulavsky, Rice swept UAB 30-21, 34-32, 30-24 on Sunday afternoon in Conference USA volleyball action.
"Overall, I'm very pleased with how the team came out after such a poor showing at Memphis," noted head coach Genny Volpe. "The team did a great job of getting focused and paying attention to the game plan, and more than anything just coming out with a confidence that wasn't there a couple of days ago. Just showing that confidence and that togetherness, it was a great overall effort by everybody. "
Bogan (Oakland, Calif.) led all hitters with 17 kills while hitting .448 for the match, and was impressive in the Owls' front row defense, matching her career-best with nine blocks. Boulavsky (Clear Brook HS) was an offensive force on both sides of the net, tallying 14 kills and hitting .433.
"Natalie Bogan is just a machine," state Volpe. "She's consistent as all get out, and she brought it again today. It was key. We knew we would have to have a balanced offense to beat UAB."
Rice shared the load of the back row defense as junior Karyn Morgan (Episcopal HS) and freshman Tracey Lam (San Francisco, Calif.) had 18 digs a piece. Sophomore Jennifer McClean (Cy Fair HS) added 13 digs in the defensive effort.
Bogan scored the first two points of the match with a pair of kills as the Owls built an early 6-3 lead. The Blazers scored the next three to knot the score at 6-6, but after a UAB service error, Boulavsky and the Owls took over. Boulavsky teamed with Bogan on a block, then scored a pair of kills, and Rice never looked back. Bogan finished the game with seven kills while Boulavsky had five.
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Bogan struck first again in game three, scoring the first two kills. After taking a quick 5-1 lead, the Owls looked like they had complete control as they built a 20-10 lead. Again, the Blazers never gave up and began whittling away at the margin until Rice's lead was just 28-24. The Owls grasp on the momentum was too strong though, and Boulavsky knocked down a pair of kills to close out the victory.
"Jessie just really shined today," said Volpe. "If she plays like that, it's very hard to stop her."
Fernanda Domingos led the Blazer attack with 12 kills and Brianna Galvan had 20 digs.
With the win, Rice improves to 10-12 on the year and 5-5 in C-USA play. The Owls return home next weekend to host Marshall on Friday at 7 pm and East Carolina on Sunday at 1 pm. Both matches are set for Fox Gym.
