Friday, August 24
Lubbock, TX
10:00 am CT
Rice University
1-0
3
vs
1
North Dakota
0-1
1
2
3
4
F
Rice
25
25
21
25
3
North Dakota
22
15
25
18
1
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Owls Down North Dakota in Season-Opener
8/24/2018 1:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Rice wins in four sets; will face Northwestern St. at 5 p.m.
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Rice Owls volleyball team used a big offensive performance from sophomore outside hitter Nicole Lennon and a stingy team defense to defeat North Dakota in four sets (25-22, 25-15, 21-25, 25-18) in the season-opening match Friday morning at the Red Raider Classic.
RICE HEAD COACH GENNY VOLPE
"We're obviously happy with the win. North Dakota is a very solid team and really didn't give us a lot of points after the first set. I would have liked to have seen us counteract some of the things they were doing and adjust a little more quickly. North Dakota definitely improved as the match went on. We can do a better job of doing that ourselves. Some highlights for us was Lee Ann Cunningham did an excellent job in serve/receive and was very comfortable. She made a lot of plays looks easy that aren't for most people, she was instrumental in the win. Our setters did a pretty good job. We're trying to balance our offense but today Nicole Lennon had a great match and put us in position to win in several instances. She took a lot of big swings and was tough for them to defend. Moving forward I'd like to see some more balance and not allow so many strings of points. But overall I was very pleased with the outcome and the team knows we're going to need to be a little sharper for the rest of the weekend."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
The Owls broke a 20-20 tie with a 5-2 close to defeat the Fighting Hawks, 25-22 in the opening frame. Rice won despite hitting just .121 as a team but managed to limit North Dakota to a hitting percentage of just .029. Lennon led all players with six kills in the set.
Set 2
Rice led nearly start-to-finish in game two, opening up a huge 11-3 lead and never looked back. The Owls capitalized on the offense end to a tune of .351. Junior outside hitter Tori Woogk came off the bench and provided a spark with three kills in the frame.
Set 3
Despite jumping out to an early 5-1 advantage, North Dakota battled back and outscored Rice 6-2 to force a fourth set with a 25-21 victory over the Owls. The Fighting Hawks had their best offensive set, hitting .286.
Set 4
Rice never trailed in a match-clinching 25-18 victory. Lennon recorded four kills in the frame along with a block.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
•Lennon led all players with 21 kills on 46 attacks (.304). It marked the eighth time in her career she posted 20 or more kills in a match.
•Three Owls recorded double-doubles:
•Five Owls made their respective Rice debuts (Anota Adekunle, Graham, Tia Grippo, Isabel Wiatt and Tori Woogk).
•The Owls improved to 19-20 all-time in season-openers.
•Lennon and Woogk each recorded an ace.
UP NEXT
Rice will be back at it later this evening when they face Northwestern St. at 5 p.m. in match two of the Red Raider Classic. Be sure to follow @RiceVolleyball on Twitter for updates and links.
-RiceOwls.com-
RICE HEAD COACH GENNY VOLPE
"We're obviously happy with the win. North Dakota is a very solid team and really didn't give us a lot of points after the first set. I would have liked to have seen us counteract some of the things they were doing and adjust a little more quickly. North Dakota definitely improved as the match went on. We can do a better job of doing that ourselves. Some highlights for us was Lee Ann Cunningham did an excellent job in serve/receive and was very comfortable. She made a lot of plays looks easy that aren't for most people, she was instrumental in the win. Our setters did a pretty good job. We're trying to balance our offense but today Nicole Lennon had a great match and put us in position to win in several instances. She took a lot of big swings and was tough for them to defend. Moving forward I'd like to see some more balance and not allow so many strings of points. But overall I was very pleased with the outcome and the team knows we're going to need to be a little sharper for the rest of the weekend."
🎥 Junior libero @leeann5757 gives her thoughts on a season-opening victory over North Dakota. #GoOwls👐 pic.twitter.com/32xI3EVdWL
— Rice Volleyball (@RiceVolleyball) August 24, 2018
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
The Owls broke a 20-20 tie with a 5-2 close to defeat the Fighting Hawks, 25-22 in the opening frame. Rice won despite hitting just .121 as a team but managed to limit North Dakota to a hitting percentage of just .029. Lennon led all players with six kills in the set.
Set 2
Rice led nearly start-to-finish in game two, opening up a huge 11-3 lead and never looked back. The Owls capitalized on the offense end to a tune of .351. Junior outside hitter Tori Woogk came off the bench and provided a spark with three kills in the frame.
Set 3
Despite jumping out to an early 5-1 advantage, North Dakota battled back and outscored Rice 6-2 to force a fourth set with a 25-21 victory over the Owls. The Fighting Hawks had their best offensive set, hitting .286.
Set 4
Rice never trailed in a match-clinching 25-18 victory. Lennon recorded four kills in the frame along with a block.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
•Lennon led all players with 21 kills on 46 attacks (.304). It marked the eighth time in her career she posted 20 or more kills in a match.
•Three Owls recorded double-doubles:
- Carly Graham (21 assists-11 digs)
- Adria Martinez (20 assists-12 digs)
- Lee Ann Cunningham (match-high 18 digs-11 assists)
•Five Owls made their respective Rice debuts (Anota Adekunle, Graham, Tia Grippo, Isabel Wiatt and Tori Woogk).
•The Owls improved to 19-20 all-time in season-openers.
•Lennon and Woogk each recorded an ace.
UP NEXT
Rice will be back at it later this evening when they face Northwestern St. at 5 p.m. in match two of the Red Raider Classic. Be sure to follow @RiceVolleyball on Twitter for updates and links.
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
RICE
UND
Kills
61
44
Errors
23
24
Attempts
157
152
Hitting %
.242
.132
Points
71.0
52.0
Assists
57
41
Aces
2
4
Blocks
8.0
4.0
Game Leaders
Kills
21
Aces
1
Blocks
6
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH/OPP
/ Women's VolleyballVB: Rice-Texas Postgame Presser
Saturday, December 04
VB: Rice-San Diego Postgame Presser
Thursday, December 02