Rice University Athletics
Owls Play TCU in NCAA Volleyball First Round
11/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 29, 2009
PHOTO GALLERY of Wednesday's Practice
NCAA First/Second Round Championship Central (with Webcast Links)
Rice NCAA Volleyball Notes in PDF Format 
2009 NCAA Volleyball Championship Bracket in PDF Format
Houston - The Rice Owls volleyball team plays Texas Christian University in the first round of the NCAA Championship in Austin, Texas. The Owls received Conference USA's automatic bid by virtue of winning the C-USA Championship.
The Owls and the Horned Frogs play their first round match on Thursday, Dec. 3 at 4:30 p.m. inside Gregory Gymnasium. The University of Texas, the host school, plays Texas State, Southland Conference champions, following the Rice-TCU match. The winners of each match face each other on Friday.
Rice enters with a 23-8 record and winners of its last nine matches, while TCU is 26-6 overall and received an at-large bid after placing second in the Mountain West Conference with a 13-3 league record.
Rice head coach Genny Volpe has now led the Owls to three NCAA Championships in six years at the school. Rice previously received two at-large bids to the NCAA Championship. In 2004, Rice lost 3-1 to Michigan in Austin, Texas, and in 2008 the Owls lost 3-1 to Wichita State also in Austin.
The Owls are 8-4 all-time vs. the Horned Frogs after beating TCU 3-1 in 2008 in the first volleyball match in the renovated Tudor Fieldhouse.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Matches are scheduled for Thursday (Dec. 3) and Friday (Dec. 4) in Gregory Gymnasium on the Texas campus.
Thursday, Dec. 3
4:30 p.m. - Match 1: TCU vs. Rice
6 p.m. - Match 2: Texas vs. Texas State
Friday, Dec. 4
6:30 p.m. - Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2
TICKETS
Purchase at TexasBoxOffice.com; by calling 800-982-BEVO or 512-471-3333; in person at the UT Athletics Ticket Office in Bellmont Hall (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. CT); and in person one hour prior to game time at the Gregory Gymnasium box office.
All Session prices are as follows:
Reserved All-Session Ticket: $20
General Admission Adult All-Session Ticket: $12
General Admission Youth/UT Student All-Session Ticket: $6
Individual Session Prices:
General Admission: $7
Single day tickets won't be available until Thursday at 9 a.m. (Central). These tickets can be purchased either online, by phone or in person.
Tickets will only be available at will call for this event. Tickets can be picked up at Bellmont Hall beginning Tuesday, Dec. 1. They will be at Bellmont until one hour prior to the event start time. At that time, they will be available at will call at Gregory Gymnasium.
