Tuesday, September 4
Houston, TX
6:00 pm CT
Rice University
5-2
2
vs
3
Texas State
5-3
1
2
3
4
5
F
Texas State
25
25
20
16
15
3
Rice
22
23
25
25
9
2
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Owls Comeback Falls Short Against Texas State
9/4/2018 9:44:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Rice drops five-set heartbreaker to Bobcats
HOUSTON – Despite a valiant comeback attempt, the Rice Owls volleyball team had their three-match win streak snapped on Tuesday evening, falling in five sets (22-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-16, 9-15) to the Texas State Bobcats at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Rice (5-2) held an 8-4 lead in the final frame before Texas State (5-3) came roaring back to outscore the Owls 11-1 down the stretch.
RICE HEAD COACH GENNY VOLPE
"Texas State came out stronger than us to start the match both defensively and offensively. Our goal was to set the tone, but they did. We had to battle back, which we did. We had no choice, but we have to learn how to finish the job once we have the momentum. It was not Rice Volleyball the last eight points. The best thing for us is getting back in the gym and to get back to work as we will compete against some quality opponents at Baylor this weekend."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
In a frame that saw 13 ties and three lead changes, it was the Bobcats that prevailed over the Owls by outscoring Rice 5-2 after a 20-20 tie. Sophomore Nicole Lennon posted four kills in the set but Texas State's Madison Daigle registered five kills of her own and the Bobcats had a sideout clip of 77 percent.
Set 2
The second game resembled much like the first set, with Texas State outscoring Rice 5-3 after another 20-20 tie. Sophomore Kassidy Muse provided a big spark for the Owls with six kills on 12 attacks but Rice hit just .156 for the frame in a 25-23 loss.
Set 3
Rice bounced back to keep the match alive with a 25-20 victory in set three, with five more kills from Muse on six attacks and four more from senior Shelby Livingstone. The Rice defense limited Texas State to a .143 hitting percentage.
Set 4
The Owls used a 13-3 run to break away from the Bobcats in the fourth game, en route to a 25-16 match-tying victory. Texas State had 10 attack errors in the set, hitting -.062 as a team. Meanwhile, Lennon added five kills for the Owls and Cunningham shored up the defense with 10 digs.
Set 5
Rice jumped out of the gate with all their momentum to an 8-4 lead as the two teams switched sides. However, from that point on the Bobcats outscored Rice 11-1 as the Owls managed to hit just .036 in the frame.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• Four Owls registered 10 or more kills, led by a team-high 14 apiece from Nicole Lennon and Kassidy Muse (career-high).
• Lennon (14 kills/10 digs), senior outside hitter Shelby Livingstone (11 kills/15 digs) and freshman setter Carly Graham (25 assists/10 digs) each recorded double-doubles for the Owls.
• Junior libero Lee Ann Cunningham led the Owls with 30 digs.
• The Owls lost the second set (25-23) for the first time all season.
• Junior middle blocker Grace Morgan continued her efficient hitting this season with 11 kills on 22 attacks (.409) and is now hitting .416 for the season.
• Junior transfer Tori Woogk made her first start of the season.
UP NEXT
The Owls head to Waco to partake in the Baylor Classic, which runs Sept. 7-8. Rice will first face UTRGV on Friday at 3:30 p.m. before taking on No. 15 Baylor on Saturday at 7 p.m. For more information and links, be sure to visit www.RiceOwls.com and @RiceVolleyball on Twitter.
-RiceOwls.com-
Rice (5-2) held an 8-4 lead in the final frame before Texas State (5-3) came roaring back to outscore the Owls 11-1 down the stretch.
"Texas State came out stronger than us to start the match both defensively and offensively. Our goal was to set the tone, but they did. We had to battle back, which we did. We had no choice, but we have to learn how to finish the job once we have the momentum. It was not Rice Volleyball the last eight points. The best thing for us is getting back in the gym and to get back to work as we will compete against some quality opponents at Baylor this weekend."
Set 1
In a frame that saw 13 ties and three lead changes, it was the Bobcats that prevailed over the Owls by outscoring Rice 5-2 after a 20-20 tie. Sophomore Nicole Lennon posted four kills in the set but Texas State's Madison Daigle registered five kills of her own and the Bobcats had a sideout clip of 77 percent.
Set 2
The second game resembled much like the first set, with Texas State outscoring Rice 5-3 after another 20-20 tie. Sophomore Kassidy Muse provided a big spark for the Owls with six kills on 12 attacks but Rice hit just .156 for the frame in a 25-23 loss.
Set 3
Rice bounced back to keep the match alive with a 25-20 victory in set three, with five more kills from Muse on six attacks and four more from senior Shelby Livingstone. The Rice defense limited Texas State to a .143 hitting percentage.
Set 4
The Owls used a 13-3 run to break away from the Bobcats in the fourth game, en route to a 25-16 match-tying victory. Texas State had 10 attack errors in the set, hitting -.062 as a team. Meanwhile, Lennon added five kills for the Owls and Cunningham shored up the defense with 10 digs.
Set 5
Rice jumped out of the gate with all their momentum to an 8-4 lead as the two teams switched sides. However, from that point on the Bobcats outscored Rice 11-1 as the Owls managed to hit just .036 in the frame.
• Four Owls registered 10 or more kills, led by a team-high 14 apiece from Nicole Lennon and Kassidy Muse (career-high).
• Lennon (14 kills/10 digs), senior outside hitter Shelby Livingstone (11 kills/15 digs) and freshman setter Carly Graham (25 assists/10 digs) each recorded double-doubles for the Owls.
• Junior libero Lee Ann Cunningham led the Owls with 30 digs.
• The Owls lost the second set (25-23) for the first time all season.
• Junior middle blocker Grace Morgan continued her efficient hitting this season with 11 kills on 22 attacks (.409) and is now hitting .416 for the season.
• Junior transfer Tori Woogk made her first start of the season.
The Owls head to Waco to partake in the Baylor Classic, which runs Sept. 7-8. Rice will first face UTRGV on Friday at 3:30 p.m. before taking on No. 15 Baylor on Saturday at 7 p.m. For more information and links, be sure to visit www.RiceOwls.com and @RiceVolleyball on Twitter.
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
TXST
RICE
Kills
66
55
Errors
40
22
Attempts
205
189
Hitting %
.127
.175
Points
80.0
65.0
Assists
65
51
Aces
3
2
Blocks
11.0
8.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/OPP
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