Rice University Athletics
Rice University
SMU
Rice Beats SMU 3-1 in Volleyball
10/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 10, 2009
Houston -- Sophomore Ashleigh McCord led four Rice Owls in double-digit kills with 23 as Rice defeated SMU 3-1 in a Conference USA volleyball match in Tudor Fieldhouse. Set scores were 25-22, 25-23, 31-33, and 25-18. Rice improves its overall record 13-5 and 5-2 in C-USA, while the Mustangs are now 13-7 and 3-3 in league action.
The Owls rebounded quite nicely from Friday night's loss to Tulsa.
"The biggest difference was for us to be more determined on our serving and passing game," commented Rice head coach Genny Volpe. "Tulsa put a lot of pressure on us and we knew SMU would do so as well. It was good to see us not fold or give in when the pressure was on during the course of the match and we need to do that more consistently."
Also smacking double-figures kills were Natalie Bogan (16), Nancy Cole (12), and Jenn McClean (12). Cole, a freshman middle blocker, had her finest match as a collegian with a season-high mark in kills. She also had 4 blocks. Bogan hit a match-high .455 (16-1-33).
Meredith Schamun had a match-high 55 assists (13.75 assists per set average) and Tracey Lam dug up a match-high 25 digs (6.25 digs per set) for Rice. She now owns the school record for digs in a career with 1,419.
"She (Ashleigh McCord) is definitely a `go to' hitter for us and she is getting in a rhythm and is getting more confident every day and Natalie (Bogan) again had a phenomenal night hitting with her speed," said Volpe. "Her consistency is impressive in helping us win matches."
In a tightly played first set the Owls were led by freshman middle blocker Nancy Cole and sophomore outside hitter Ashleigh McCord. A McCord kill gave the Owls a 23-22 lead and a block by Cole put the Blue & Gray up 24-22. The duo then combined for a block to give Rice a 1-0 lead.
McCord concluded set one with 7 kills and 4 digs, Cole had 2 kills and 3 block assists. Natalie Bogan had 4 kills for Rice as well. The Owls were able to hit .282 with 16 kills, while SMU, led Kendra Kahanek's 6 kills, hit .130 with 14 kills.
Rice scored a two sets to zero lead with a 25-22 win. SMU was up 19-18, but the Owls rallied to score seven of the final 12 points. McCord led all attackers with 6 kills, while Bogan again posted 4 kills. Courtney Manning led SMU with 5 kills.
The Owls had 16 kills and a .180 hitting percentage, while limiting SMU to 13 kills and a .125 attack percentage.
As close as the first two sets were, set three was even tighter. The two teams traded points the whole set until the Mustangs were able to win 33-31.
Cole and McCord led Rice with 7 kills each as the Owl hit .266 with 24 kills. SMU was led by Kathryn Wilkerson's 7 kills. The Mustangs hit .321 with 21 kills.
The Owls were able to secure the match with a 25-18 win. Rice broke a 7-7 tie with 4 unanswered points to forge an 11-7 lead that it did not relinquish.
Bogan and McClean led the Owl attack in set four with 4 kills apiece. Rice hit .222 with 13 kills and SMU hit .026 with 12 kills, five of which were by Wilkerson.
Wilkerson led SMU with 17 kills, while Courtney Manning added 16 kills.
The Owls' next four matches are away from the Rice campus. Next weekend, Rice plays at UCF on Friday (Oct. 16) at 6 p.m. (Central) and at Southern Miss on Sunday (Oct. 18) at 1 p.m.
