Saturday, August 31
Oxford, MS
10:00 am CT
Rice University
2-0
3
vs
0
(RV) UCF
1-1
1
2
3
F
UCF
23
21
22
0
Rice
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Maria Lysaker - Rice Athletics
Owls Cruise to Sweep of UCF
8/31/2019 1:20:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Lennon records 20 kills in victory over Knights
OXFORD, Miss. – The Rice Owls volleyball team, who entered the season receiving votes in the AVCA Top-25, could not have scripted a better opening weekend at the Rebel Invitational. Six sets played, six sets won. Following a sweep of host Ole Miss on Friday, the Owls responded with an even more impressive performance on Saturday morning.
Rice recorded a straight-sets (25-23, 25-21, 25-22) victory over the UCF Knights, who were sitting just outside the AVCA Top 25 themselves and receiving votes entering the weekend.
Junior outside hitter Nicole Lennon shined once again with a match-high 20 kills (.312) on 48 attacks to go along with 15 digs for another double-double. Senior middle blocker Grace Morgan helped bottle up the UCF offense with seven of Rice's 14 blocks while senior libero Lee Ann Cunningham led the Owls with 17 digs.
Senior setter Adria Martinez (19 assists) and sophomore setter Carly Graham (16 assists) helped orchestrate a Rice offense which tallied 46 kills on 137 attacks.
The Rice defense held UCF to a .168 hitting percentage and were the benefit of 19 attack errors by the Knights.
RICE HEAD COACH GENNY VOLPE
Postgame Reaction…
"Today was a great match, UCF is an awesome team and is going to do great things this year. That was a really solid win for us and I'm proud of the entire team. Everyone that was called upon was ready to go and we had a lot of balance. We tried to establish the middle early and they tested us there with their scrappy defense. But we found a way by utilizing different weapons, Nicole had a great match and was hitting from several different areas of the court and was difficult to stop. We used her quite a bit. I'm proud of the setters doing a great job of following the game plan. Overall for the weekend it's a great start for us but I think we even walk away from this wanting more and understanding that we had some weaknesses exposed and to continue to work on those moving into next week against some tough opponents."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
In a set that saw nine ties and four lead changes, it was the Owls who found a way to scratch out a 25-23 victory in the opening set by outscoring the Rebels 6-4 down the stretch to break a 19-19 tie. Lennon totaled eight kills and eight digs in the frame while Kassidy Muse also contributed four kills. Martinez dished out nine assists in the game and helped lead Rice to a .233 hitting percentage.
Set 2
The Owls led from nearly start to finish en route to a 25-21 victory behind a balanced scoring attack. Seven different Owls registered kills while Tabitha Brown and Grace Morgan each recorded an ace.
Set 3
UCF led 13-10 midway through the set before the Owls responded with a 7-0 run in which Lennon had three kills. The Knights closed their deficit to 23-22 late, but Lennon added the final two points on kills to give her 20 for the match.
Up Next
The Owls road trip continues to San Marcos next Tuesday, Sept. 3 for a rematch of last year's NCAA First Round matchup against Texas State. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the match will be streamed on ESPN+.
Rice recorded a straight-sets (25-23, 25-21, 25-22) victory over the UCF Knights, who were sitting just outside the AVCA Top 25 themselves and receiving votes entering the weekend.
Junior outside hitter Nicole Lennon shined once again with a match-high 20 kills (.312) on 48 attacks to go along with 15 digs for another double-double. Senior middle blocker Grace Morgan helped bottle up the UCF offense with seven of Rice's 14 blocks while senior libero Lee Ann Cunningham led the Owls with 17 digs.
Senior setter Adria Martinez (19 assists) and sophomore setter Carly Graham (16 assists) helped orchestrate a Rice offense which tallied 46 kills on 137 attacks.
The Rice defense held UCF to a .168 hitting percentage and were the benefit of 19 attack errors by the Knights.
Postgame Reaction…
"Today was a great match, UCF is an awesome team and is going to do great things this year. That was a really solid win for us and I'm proud of the entire team. Everyone that was called upon was ready to go and we had a lot of balance. We tried to establish the middle early and they tested us there with their scrappy defense. But we found a way by utilizing different weapons, Nicole had a great match and was hitting from several different areas of the court and was difficult to stop. We used her quite a bit. I'm proud of the setters doing a great job of following the game plan. Overall for the weekend it's a great start for us but I think we even walk away from this wanting more and understanding that we had some weaknesses exposed and to continue to work on those moving into next week against some tough opponents."
Set 1
In a set that saw nine ties and four lead changes, it was the Owls who found a way to scratch out a 25-23 victory in the opening set by outscoring the Rebels 6-4 down the stretch to break a 19-19 tie. Lennon totaled eight kills and eight digs in the frame while Kassidy Muse also contributed four kills. Martinez dished out nine assists in the game and helped lead Rice to a .233 hitting percentage.
Set 2
The Owls led from nearly start to finish en route to a 25-21 victory behind a balanced scoring attack. Seven different Owls registered kills while Tabitha Brown and Grace Morgan each recorded an ace.
Set 3
UCF led 13-10 midway through the set before the Owls responded with a 7-0 run in which Lennon had three kills. The Knights closed their deficit to 23-22 late, but Lennon added the final two points on kills to give her 20 for the match.
The Owls road trip continues to San Marcos next Tuesday, Sept. 3 for a rematch of last year's NCAA First Round matchup against Texas State. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the match will be streamed on ESPN+.
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
UCF
RICE
Kills
40
46
Errors
19
19
Attempts
125
137
Hitting %
.168
.197
Points
52.5
58.0
Assists
37
43
Aces
3
2
Blocks
9.5
10.0
Game Leaders
Kills
20
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
3
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
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