Owls Play at SMU & Tulsa
10/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 23, 2009
Rice volleyball plays at SMU on Friday at 7 p.m. in Moody Coliseum and at Tulsa on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Reynolds Center.
The match with Tulsa will be broadcasted by CBS College Sports on Wed., Oct. 28, at 6 p.m.
Quick Look at Rice (14-6, 6-3)
The Owls are 6-3 in in their last nine matches, all against Conference USA opponents and sit in fourth place in the C-USA Standings. Last weekend Rice defeated UCF by a 3-0 score in Orlando, and then lost a close five-set match at Southern Miss.
Vs. SMU
Rice is 18-9 all-time vs. the Mustangs after winning the season's first meeting 3-1 in Houston. The Owls won both matches a year ago, 3-0 in Houston and 3-1 in Dallas. Sophomore Ashleigh McCord led four Rice Owls in double-digit kills with 23. 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). Rice coach Genny Volpe is 9-2 vs. SMU.
Vs. Tulsa
Rice is 19-10 all-time vs. the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa won the year's first meeting 3-0 in Houston. Jennifer Eichler had a match-high 19 kills to lead TU. The Owls only had one player in double-digit kills as Ashleigh McCord had 14. Besides Eichler, TU's Tyler Henderson, a freshman, had 13 kills. Eichler, a left-handed outside hitter, finished the night with a match-high .375 hitting percentage (19-4-40). Rice coach Genny Volpe is 4-8 vs. Tulsa.
Head Coach Genny Volpe
Rice head volleyball coach Genny Volpe is in her sixth season in directing the Owls' volleyball program. Volpe has an overall school and career record of 104-67. She has led the Owls to two NCAA championship appearances in 2008 and their first-ever bid in 2004.
Volpe came to Rice University after spending three years as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Texas A&M. Prior to Texas A&M, Volpe was an assistant at SMU from 1996 to 2000. She spent the 1995 season as an assistant coach at Rice under Henry Chen.
Rice's NCAA Championship History
Rice lost 3-1 to Wichita State in 2008 in Austin,Texas. In 2004, Rice received an at-large bid and faced Michigan in the first round in Austin, where the Wolverines prevailed 3-1.
Team C-USA Stat Ranks
Rice ranks first in kills (14.67), first in assists (13.70), second in hitting percentage (.236), and first in digs (17.82). The Owls are also third in opponent hitting percentage (.157), and sixth in blocks (2.10).
Team National Stat Ranks
Rice ranRice ranks seventh in the nation in assists per set with 13.70 and seventh in digs per set with 17.82. The Owls are also ninth in kills per set at 14.67.
Bogan Leading Candidate for C-USA Player of the Year
2008 All-C-USA player Natalie Bogan is having an excellent senior season and is in the mix for C-USA Player of the Year accolades. Bogan is second in C-USA in hitting percentage (.360), eighth in points (3.98), eighth in blocks (1.03), and 10th in kills per set (3.34). She leads Rice with 290 points.
Bogan hit a season-high .609 vs. Cal State Northridge with 15 kills (1 error) in 23 attacks. She leads the Owls for kills in a three-set match with 15 vs. Cal State Northridge as well.
She has been named to the all-tournament team for the Mizuno Invitational, USF/Asics Challenge, and for the Mizuno Invitational II.
Lam Diggin' It
Libéro Tracey Lam owns the school record for digs in a career with 1,457. She had double-digit digs in 54 straight matches dating back to the last nine matches of her freshman season in 2007, all 31 matches in 2008, and the first 14 matches of 2009. Lam is averaging 5.33 digs per set which leads C-USA and is 12th in the nation.
KPS
Three Owls are currently averaging 3.00+ kills per set. Ashleigh McCord ranks fourth in C-USA at 3.84 kps, while Natalie Bogan is 10th (3.34). Jenn McClean is close behind at 2.93 kps.
Senior Hitting
Senior Natalie Bogan and Jessie Boulavsky lead Rice in hitting percentage. Bogan is tops on the squad with a sterling .360 hitting percentage and is ranked second in Conference USA. Boulavsky is hitting at .297 and ranks ninth in C-USA. Boulavsky hit a C-USA season-high .786 (12-1-14) in the 3-0 win at UCF.
Schamun Sets It
Junior setter Meredith Schamun is first in the league and 8th in the nation with 11.79 assists per set. Schamun set a C-USA season-high with 50 assists for three-set match in the win at UCF. Schamun has been named C-USA Setter of the Week twice in 2009 (Sept. 28 & Oct.12).
MVP McClean
Senior Jenn McClean was named MVP of the USF/Asics Challenge. For the year, she leads Rice in kills per set in a four-set match (21-4-47 at USF) and five-set match (19-7-45 vs. San Diego State) and she is third on the team with 211 kills. R
Cole Starter
Freshman middle blocker Nancy Cole made her first career start in the match vs. SMU (10-10-09). Cole smacked a season-high 12 in kills to go with 4 blocks. She is currently second on the team with a 0.94 block average and she has a .217 hitting percentage.
Milestones
Middle blocker Natalie Bogan now has 1,199 career kills to rank 10th at Rice. R
Junior setter Meredith Schamun ranks fourth with 3,475 career assists. R
Senior outside hitter Jenn McClean has 1,217 career digs, which is sixth best at Rice.
Junior libéro Tracey Lam ranks first in school history with 1,457 career digs, which was accomplished in 287 sets (78 matches) for a 4.94 dig per set average.
Next Week
The Owls host East Carolina on Fri., Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. This match is Rice's "Dig For The Cure" match in raising breast cancer awareness.
Rice then will host Marshall on Sat., Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. Both matches will be in Tudor Fieldhouse.
