Thursday, December 5
College Station, TX
4:30 pm CT
Rice University
vs
Oklahoma
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Preview: No. 21 Owls Set to Face Oklahoma in NCAA Tournament
12/3/2019 2:53:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
First serve scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on SEC Network+
Match 30 | (No. 21) Rice Owls (26-3) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (19-8) | Thursday, Dec. 5 (4:30 p.m. CT)
Location: College Station, Texas (Reed Arena)
Buy Tickets: 12thman.com/ncaatickets
Video Stream: ESPN3
Live Stats: NCAA.com
Series: Oklahoma leads, 4-2 (Last Meeting: L, 3-0, 8/28/09)
- Fans are encouraged to attend a team send-off on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 9 a.m. at the back of Tudor Fieldhouse.
- The Owls are making their fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, second straight overall, after earning their third at-large bid in program history. In the previous four occasions Rice made the NCAA Tournament, each one occurred in Austin (2004, 2008, 2009, 2018) going 0-4 with losses to Michigan (2004; 3-1), Wichita St. (2008; 3-1), TCU (2009; 3-0), and Texas State (2018; 3-1), respectively.
- Rice is 2-4 all-time against the Sooners and will be meeting for the first time since getting swept back on Aug. 28, 2009. The Owls and Red Storm have met only once, a 3-1 Rice victory on Sept. 24, 1999. A&M holds a 35-4 all-time lead on the Owls and haven't faced each other since Sept. 1, 2001.
- Rice entered the AVCA Top 25 for the first time in program history on Sept. 23 and have remained for 11 consecutive weeks, climbing as high as No. 17 and currently at No. 21.
- In the latest RPI rankings the Owls are ranked 14th in the NCAA. The Owls have 12 wins against Top-100 programs this season, including three in the top 40. The Owls' biggest resume builder was their five-set victory over then No. 3 Texas (currently No. 1) back on Sept. 18 at Tudor Fieldhouse, Rice's first ever win against the Longhorns.
- Genny Volpe is in her 16th season with the Owls and is the school's all-time leader in totals wins (312) and winning percentage (.632). She notched her ninth, 20-plus win season for the Owls this year while collecting her 300th career win. Volpe graduated from Texas A&M and was a four-year letterwinner as a setter and outside hitter from 1990-93. She quickly developed into one of the best defensive players in the Southwest Conference and led the Aggies in digs for three consecutive seasons. A two-year team captain, Volpe capped her stellar A&M playing career by leading the Aggies to a 27-8 record and the second round of the NCAA tournament as a senior. Then known as Genny Wood, Volpe still ranks in the Top-10 at A&M in career assists (9th-1,366) and service aces (8th-123) and is one of 21 players with over 1,000 career digs (5th-1,403).
VB: Rice-Texas Postgame Presser
Saturday, December 04
VB: Rice-San Diego Postgame Presser
Thursday, December 02