Sunday, November 10
Houston, TX
1:00 pm CT
Rice University
22-2, 11-1
2
vs
3
No. 22 WKU
26-1, 12-0
1
2
3
4
5
F
No. 22 WKU
25
25
19
18
16
3
Rice
20
21
25
25
14
2
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
No. 17 Owls Drop Five-Set Heartbreaker to No. 22 WKU
11/10/2019 5:38:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
HOUSTON – Despite a valiant comeback effort, the No. 17 Rice Owls volleyball team saw their 13-match winning streak come to a close Sunday afternoon in a five-set loss (20-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18, 14-16) to No. 22 WKU at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Rice (22-2, 11-1) lost a home match for the first time since Sept. 4, 2018 (Texas St.), a span of 433 days without a setback. The Owls nearly dug themselves out of an 0-2 deficit, tying the match with victories in set three and four before going the distance in the fifth frame.
The Owls had four players with 10 or more kills, led by Nicole Lennon's match-high tying 17 kills. Middle blockers Grace Morgan and Anota Adekunle each added 13 kills while Tori Woogk recorded a season-high 11 kills off the bench.
Senior libero Lee Ann Cunningham paced the Rice defense with 17 digs while Adekunle nearly recorded a double-double with a match-high nine blocks.
WKU (26-1, 12-0) extended their winning streak to 22 straight and were led by Lauren Matthews (17 kills) and Sophie Cerino (16 kills).
The match marked the final regular season home games for Rice's Tabitha Brown, Cunningham, Martinez, Morgan and Woogk, who were all honored pregame with a special Senior Day ceremony.
Genny Volpe Postgame Reaction
"Today was a great volleyball match between two teams that deserve to be in the postseason and have the ability to make noise in the NCAA Tournament. It shows a lot about our league overall and how much C-USA has improved. We've got several team that can compete for a conference championship and it's made us all better. We didn't execute well in the first two sets, and WKU did. I thought we were a little tight to start the match. But I give our team credit for maintaining their composure, which they've done all season. Today could have gone either way but WKU made the final play at the end."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
In a game that saw 12 ties in the opening frame alone, it was WKU who broke away late from a 19-18 lead with a 6-2 run to win 25-20. The Lady Toppers hit .414 in the set compared to just a .276 clip by the Owls.
Set 2
The Owls were held to a .143 hitting percentage and committed six attack errors, tallying just 10 kills in the frame. Still, Rice managed to hang close and drew even at 20-20. However, just like in set one the Lady Toppers closed strong with a 4-1 run to win 25-21 and take a 2-0 match lead.
Set 3
Rice came out a different team and led from start to finish, completing a convincing 25-19 victory. Lennon posted five kills while Morgan added three more as Rice never looked back after opening up an 18-10 advantage.
Set 4
With Tudor Fieldhouse in a frenzy, the Owls used the energy from the crowd to tie the match with a 25-18 win. Woogk recorded six kills of Rice's 19 kills as part of a .410 hitting percentage from the team.
Set 5
Rice held a 9-6 lead but WKU used a 6-2 run to take a 12-11 lead. After a kill from Ellie Bichelmeyer and a block from Adekunle gave the Owls back a 13-12 lead, WKU answered with two points of their own to go up 14-13. Rice held on match point as Adekunle evened the score 14-14 on another block, but WKU scored the game's final two points to secure the victory.
Up Next
The Owls will conclude the C-USA regular season next week with a pair of road matches, starting Thursday, Nov. 14 at UTSA, followed by a trip to UTEP on Saturday, Nov. 16.
-RiceOwls.com-
Rice (22-2, 11-1) lost a home match for the first time since Sept. 4, 2018 (Texas St.), a span of 433 days without a setback. The Owls nearly dug themselves out of an 0-2 deficit, tying the match with victories in set three and four before going the distance in the fifth frame.
The Owls had four players with 10 or more kills, led by Nicole Lennon's match-high tying 17 kills. Middle blockers Grace Morgan and Anota Adekunle each added 13 kills while Tori Woogk recorded a season-high 11 kills off the bench.
Senior libero Lee Ann Cunningham paced the Rice defense with 17 digs while Adekunle nearly recorded a double-double with a match-high nine blocks.
WKU (26-1, 12-0) extended their winning streak to 22 straight and were led by Lauren Matthews (17 kills) and Sophie Cerino (16 kills).
The match marked the final regular season home games for Rice's Tabitha Brown, Cunningham, Martinez, Morgan and Woogk, who were all honored pregame with a special Senior Day ceremony.
"Today was a great volleyball match between two teams that deserve to be in the postseason and have the ability to make noise in the NCAA Tournament. It shows a lot about our league overall and how much C-USA has improved. We've got several team that can compete for a conference championship and it's made us all better. We didn't execute well in the first two sets, and WKU did. I thought we were a little tight to start the match. But I give our team credit for maintaining their composure, which they've done all season. Today could have gone either way but WKU made the final play at the end."
Set 1
In a game that saw 12 ties in the opening frame alone, it was WKU who broke away late from a 19-18 lead with a 6-2 run to win 25-20. The Lady Toppers hit .414 in the set compared to just a .276 clip by the Owls.
Set 2
The Owls were held to a .143 hitting percentage and committed six attack errors, tallying just 10 kills in the frame. Still, Rice managed to hang close and drew even at 20-20. However, just like in set one the Lady Toppers closed strong with a 4-1 run to win 25-21 and take a 2-0 match lead.
Set 3
Rice came out a different team and led from start to finish, completing a convincing 25-19 victory. Lennon posted five kills while Morgan added three more as Rice never looked back after opening up an 18-10 advantage.
Set 4
With Tudor Fieldhouse in a frenzy, the Owls used the energy from the crowd to tie the match with a 25-18 win. Woogk recorded six kills of Rice's 19 kills as part of a .410 hitting percentage from the team.
Set 5
Rice held a 9-6 lead but WKU used a 6-2 run to take a 12-11 lead. After a kill from Ellie Bichelmeyer and a block from Adekunle gave the Owls back a 13-12 lead, WKU answered with two points of their own to go up 14-13. Rice held on match point as Adekunle evened the score 14-14 on another block, but WKU scored the game's final two points to secure the victory.
The Owls will conclude the C-USA regular season next week with a pair of road matches, starting Thursday, Nov. 14 at UTSA, followed by a trip to UTEP on Saturday, Nov. 16.
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
WKU
RICE
Kills
68
65
Errors
27
23
Attempts
168
162
Hitting %
.244
.259
Points
83.0
81.0
Assists
68
62
Aces
6
4
Blocks
9.0
12.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
9
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH/OPP
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