Saturday, September 1
Houston, TX
7:00 pm CT
Rice University
5-1
3
vs
1
Houston Baptist
3-3
1
2
3
4
F
Houston Baptist
26
12
16
18
1
Rice
24
25
25
25
3
Owls Take Down HBU; Sweep Adidas Invitational
9/1/2018 9:53:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Lennon (MVP), Morgan, Woogk named to All-Tournament Team
HOUSTON – The Rice Owls volleyball team put the finishing touches on a stellar opening weekend at home by defeating the Houston Baptist Huskies (3-3) in four sets (24-26, 25-12, 25-16, 25-18) to win the Rice Adidas Invitational I tournament outright with a perfect 3-0 slate.
Rice (5-1) placed three players on the All-Tournament Team, with sophomore outside hitter Nicole Lennon claiming MVP honors. In addition, junior middle blocker Grace Morgan was named to an all-tournament team for the second time this season while transfer outside hitter Tori Woogk also joined Lennon and Morgan on seven-player squad.
Rice Adidas Invitational I All-Tournament Team
Nicole Lennon – Rice (MVP)
Grace Morgan – Rice
Tori Woogk – Rice
Aubrey Ezell – South Carolina
Mikayla Shields – South Carolina
Victoria Baptista – Liberty
Kelly Colwell – Houston Baptist
RICE HEAD COACH GENNY VOLPE
On the victory over HBU: "We talked in the locker room about how scrappy HBU was and that they were going to play with an underdog mindset. They (HBU) really came out strong and their defense frustrated us. However, I was glad to see our team not get rattled. We could have gotten flustered but they remained confident and steady so that was good to see."
On takeaways from this weekend: "I was really happy to see our offensive efficiency pick up. We keep getting better in that area. I think we can present a lot of different looks and problems for other teams. Our team is extremely united and we have players ready to go in at anytime, which makes me feel confident as a coach making adjustments. I think we also showed continued progress in our serve."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
Rice dropped their first opening set of the season, 26-24, as the Huskies rallied from a 24-23 deficit. Morgan tallied four kills in the frame while Kassidy Muse added an additional three kills.
Set 2
The Owls responded with a dominant second set, winning 25-12 while outhitting the Huskies .440-.000. Lennon and Woogk posted four kills apiece in the victory and the Owls had 5.0 team blocks and took advantage of nine HBU attack errors.
Set 3
Rice carried the momentum into and after the break by never trailing in set three in a 25-16 win. Morgan and Lennon combined for eight kills and Lee Ann Cunningham led the defensive charge with eight digs. The Owls accomplished a match-best sideout percentage of 70%.
Set 4
The Owls hit just .171 in the final game but HBU was held to .057 percent themselves, and Rice put the match away with a 25-18 victory. Six different Owls posted kills and Rice limited the Huskies to a sideout of just 36 percent.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• Lennon was named to her second All-Tournament Team of the young season, combining for a team-high 32 kills in 11 sets (2.91 per set) on 94 swings. She also collected 21 digs (1.91 per set) and had a team-best 38.0 points.
• Morgan also made her second All-Tournament Team by hitting an efficient .412 over 11 sets with 24 kills. The junior also led the Owls with 14 blocks (1.27 per set), 10 of which came in the win over HBU.
• Woogk provided a big boost for the Owls in the win over the Huskies, collecting a season and team-high 11 kills on 21 attacks (.476).
• Rice's 16.0 team blocks were a season-high.
• The Owls 5-1 record is their best start through five matches since the 2009 team that began the year 8-1.
• Junior libero Lee Ann Cunningham (19 digs) and senior Shelby Livingstone (15 digs) combined for 34 digs.
• The Owls have now held their opponents to a hitting percentage of .200 or less in five of six matches.
UP NEXT
The Owls return to Tudor Fieldhouse on Tuesday for a rematch of last year's NIVC opening round matchup against the Texas State Bobcats. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the match will be streamed on beIN Connect. For more information and links, be sure to visit www.RiceOwls.com for times and ticket information.
-RiceOwls.com-
Rice (5-1) placed three players on the All-Tournament Team, with sophomore outside hitter Nicole Lennon claiming MVP honors. In addition, junior middle blocker Grace Morgan was named to an all-tournament team for the second time this season while transfer outside hitter Tori Woogk also joined Lennon and Morgan on seven-player squad.
Rice Adidas Invitational I All-Tournament Team
Nicole Lennon – Rice (MVP)
Grace Morgan – Rice
Tori Woogk – Rice
Aubrey Ezell – South Carolina
Mikayla Shields – South Carolina
Victoria Baptista – Liberty
Kelly Colwell – Houston Baptist
On the victory over HBU: "We talked in the locker room about how scrappy HBU was and that they were going to play with an underdog mindset. They (HBU) really came out strong and their defense frustrated us. However, I was glad to see our team not get rattled. We could have gotten flustered but they remained confident and steady so that was good to see."
On takeaways from this weekend: "I was really happy to see our offensive efficiency pick up. We keep getting better in that area. I think we can present a lot of different looks and problems for other teams. Our team is extremely united and we have players ready to go in at anytime, which makes me feel confident as a coach making adjustments. I think we also showed continued progress in our serve."
Set 1
Rice dropped their first opening set of the season, 26-24, as the Huskies rallied from a 24-23 deficit. Morgan tallied four kills in the frame while Kassidy Muse added an additional three kills.
Set 2
The Owls responded with a dominant second set, winning 25-12 while outhitting the Huskies .440-.000. Lennon and Woogk posted four kills apiece in the victory and the Owls had 5.0 team blocks and took advantage of nine HBU attack errors.
Set 3
Rice carried the momentum into and after the break by never trailing in set three in a 25-16 win. Morgan and Lennon combined for eight kills and Lee Ann Cunningham led the defensive charge with eight digs. The Owls accomplished a match-best sideout percentage of 70%.
Set 4
The Owls hit just .171 in the final game but HBU was held to .057 percent themselves, and Rice put the match away with a 25-18 victory. Six different Owls posted kills and Rice limited the Huskies to a sideout of just 36 percent.
• Lennon was named to her second All-Tournament Team of the young season, combining for a team-high 32 kills in 11 sets (2.91 per set) on 94 swings. She also collected 21 digs (1.91 per set) and had a team-best 38.0 points.
• Morgan also made her second All-Tournament Team by hitting an efficient .412 over 11 sets with 24 kills. The junior also led the Owls with 14 blocks (1.27 per set), 10 of which came in the win over HBU.
• Woogk provided a big boost for the Owls in the win over the Huskies, collecting a season and team-high 11 kills on 21 attacks (.476).
• Rice's 16.0 team blocks were a season-high.
• The Owls 5-1 record is their best start through five matches since the 2009 team that began the year 8-1.
• Junior libero Lee Ann Cunningham (19 digs) and senior Shelby Livingstone (15 digs) combined for 34 digs.
• The Owls have now held their opponents to a hitting percentage of .200 or less in five of six matches.
The Owls return to Tudor Fieldhouse on Tuesday for a rematch of last year's NIVC opening round matchup against the Texas State Bobcats. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the match will be streamed on beIN Connect. For more information and links, be sure to visit www.RiceOwls.com for times and ticket information.
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
HBU
RICE
Kills
46
52
Errors
33
15
Attempts
146
139
Hitting %
.089
.266
Points
55.0
75.0
Assists
44
51
Aces
3
7
Blocks
6.0
16.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
2
Blocks
10
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
L
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's VolleyballOH/OPP
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