Sunday, October 14
Houston, TX
1:00 pm CT
Rice University
16-4, 7-0
3
vs
0
North Texas
8-15, 4-3
1
2
3
F
North Texas
17
21
24
0
Rice
25
25
26
3
Photo by: Maria Lysaker/Rice Athletics
Volleyball Pushes Win Streak to 10 Straight
10/14/2018 3:41:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Sweeps North Texas in straight sets
HOUSTON – Three Owls recorded 10 or more kills while four other players posted 10-plus digs in a Rice volleyball sweep (25-17, 25-21, 26-24) over North Texas Sunday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse. With the win the Owls (16-4, 7-0) extended their season-long win streak to 10 straight, tied for third-longest run in program history and the most consecutive wins since 2004 (11).
Rice sophomore outside hitter Nicole Lennon notched her 11th double-double of the season with a match-high 15 kills to go along with 17 digs. The Owls middle blockers excelled on Sunday with 26 combined kills between junior Grace Morgan (13) and freshman Anota Adekunle (13), with each hitting .571 and .429, respectively.
Defensively, junior libero Lee Ann Cunningham led all players with 21 digs, her seventh performance of the season with 20 or more digs. Junior setter Adria Martinez added 13 digs to go along with 25 assists for her seventh double-double of the year.
RICE HEAD COACH GENNY VOLPE
"I'm very proud of the team for showing composure and defensively making improvements from Friday. I thought Lee Ann really highlighted our floor defense and our team fed off her."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
Rice used a balanced scoring attack in the opening set on their way to a 25-17 victory. Lennon, Morgan, Adekunle and Shelby Livingstone all had four kills apiece while on the defensive side Livingstone, Cunningham and Martinez all posted seven digs. The Owls held North Texas to a .043 hitting percentage and Rice never trailed again after taking a 4-3 lead.
Set 2
The Owls posted 17 kills for a second straight set with a superb 80 percent sideout rate en route to a 25-21 victory. Rice never trailed in the frame and two kills from Lennon late sealed the victory. The Owls had 22 digs in the set, led by six more from Cunningham.
Set 3
Rice had to rally to complete the sweep, erasing an 11-6 deficit to win in exciting fashion, 26-24. After nine ties and one lead change, the Owls broke a 24-24 tie with kills from Tori Woogk and Morgan to end the match. Lennon led all players with eight kills (.304) in the frame while Morgan and Adekunle also had five kills apiece. Rice had a staggering 23 kills on 62 attacks in the set as a team.
MATCH NOTES
• The Owls 10-match win streak is the team's longest since 2004 and tied for the third-longest win streak in school history. The most consecutive wins by the Owls is 12 straight, set in 1995.
•Rice is 7-0 in C-USA play for the first time in school history. The last time the Owls started at least 5-0 in conference play they were members of the WAC in 2004 (started 7-0, finished 12-1).
• Rice improved to 10-1 at home this season.
• The Owls' 57 kills were a season-high for a three-set match as were their 80 digs.
• Rice established a season-high with 104 digs with five players recording 15 or more digs.
• The sweep was the Owls seventh straight-sets victory of the year.
• Rice remains alone in first place in the C-USA standings with a one game lead on UTSA (6-1), who the Owls defeated 3-1 on Sept. 28.
UP NEXT
The Owls will look to extend their winning streak to 11 straight matches next Sunday, Oct. 21 when they host Louisiana Tech at 1 p.m. For ticket information and links, be sure to visit www.RiceOwls.com and @RiceVolleyball on Twitter.
-RiceOwls.com-
Rice sophomore outside hitter Nicole Lennon notched her 11th double-double of the season with a match-high 15 kills to go along with 17 digs. The Owls middle blockers excelled on Sunday with 26 combined kills between junior Grace Morgan (13) and freshman Anota Adekunle (13), with each hitting .571 and .429, respectively.
Defensively, junior libero Lee Ann Cunningham led all players with 21 digs, her seventh performance of the season with 20 or more digs. Junior setter Adria Martinez added 13 digs to go along with 25 assists for her seventh double-double of the year.
"I'm very proud of the team for showing composure and defensively making improvements from Friday. I thought Lee Ann really highlighted our floor defense and our team fed off her."
Set 1
Rice used a balanced scoring attack in the opening set on their way to a 25-17 victory. Lennon, Morgan, Adekunle and Shelby Livingstone all had four kills apiece while on the defensive side Livingstone, Cunningham and Martinez all posted seven digs. The Owls held North Texas to a .043 hitting percentage and Rice never trailed again after taking a 4-3 lead.
Set 2
The Owls posted 17 kills for a second straight set with a superb 80 percent sideout rate en route to a 25-21 victory. Rice never trailed in the frame and two kills from Lennon late sealed the victory. The Owls had 22 digs in the set, led by six more from Cunningham.
Set 3
Rice had to rally to complete the sweep, erasing an 11-6 deficit to win in exciting fashion, 26-24. After nine ties and one lead change, the Owls broke a 24-24 tie with kills from Tori Woogk and Morgan to end the match. Lennon led all players with eight kills (.304) in the frame while Morgan and Adekunle also had five kills apiece. Rice had a staggering 23 kills on 62 attacks in the set as a team.
• The Owls 10-match win streak is the team's longest since 2004 and tied for the third-longest win streak in school history. The most consecutive wins by the Owls is 12 straight, set in 1995.
•Rice is 7-0 in C-USA play for the first time in school history. The last time the Owls started at least 5-0 in conference play they were members of the WAC in 2004 (started 7-0, finished 12-1).
• Rice improved to 10-1 at home this season.
• The Owls' 57 kills were a season-high for a three-set match as were their 80 digs.
• Rice established a season-high with 104 digs with five players recording 15 or more digs.
• The sweep was the Owls seventh straight-sets victory of the year.
• Rice remains alone in first place in the C-USA standings with a one game lead on UTSA (6-1), who the Owls defeated 3-1 on Sept. 28.
The Owls will look to extend their winning streak to 11 straight matches next Sunday, Oct. 21 when they host Louisiana Tech at 1 p.m. For ticket information and links, be sure to visit www.RiceOwls.com and @RiceVolleyball on Twitter.
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
UNT
RICE
Kills
38
57
Errors
12
16
Attempts
133
150
Hitting %
.195
.273
Points
44.0
62.0
Assists
35
54
Aces
2
1
Blocks
4.0
4.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
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