Saturday, September 14
Jonesboro, AR
11:00 am CT
Rice University
9-1
2
vs
3
Stephen F. Austin
9-1
1
2
3
4
5
F
Rice
26
24
22
25
14
2
SFA
18
26
25
17
16
3
Owls Drop Five-Set Heartbreaker to SFA
9/14/2019 3:43:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
JONESBORO, Ark. – The Rice Owls volleyball team suffered their first setback of the season on Saturday, falling in five tough sets (25-18, 24-26, 22-25, 25-17, 14-16) to the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks (9-1) at the A-State Invitational.
Rice (9-1), who hadn't even trailed entering the fourth set all season, received a career performance from junior outside hitter Nicole Lennon in the loss. Just one day after setting a career-high with 26 kills, the Katy, Texas native bested that performance with 31 kills on a career-high 81 attacks and 22 digs. The 31 kills were the 11th-most by a Rice player in a single match while the 81 attacks tied Rebeca Pazo (2003) for the most swings by an Owl in program history.
The Owls had three players with 20 or more digs, led by Lee Ann Cunningham (34 digs), who fell just one dig shy of her career-high. In addition to Lennon's 22 digs, transfer Tabitha Brown established a season-high with 24 digs over five sets.
Senior setter Adria Martinez posted her first double-double of the season with 50 assists/15 digs while Anota Adekunle (16 kills/.378) and Grace Morgan (10 kills/.308) joined Lennon in double-figure kills.
Despite the loss, Rice outnumbered the Ladyjacks in total attacks (212-208), kills (76-57), hitting percentage (.226-.154), assists (72-51) and digs (113-90).
RICE HEAD COACH GENNY VOLPE
Postgame Reaction…
"We needed more production and balance to win the match today. It was a back-and-forth battle that could have gone either way but in the end SFA was the team that made the big play when it mattered."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
The Owls opened the match sizzling offensively, hitting .500 as a team with 17 kills on 30 attacks en route to a 25-18 victory. Rice jumped out to a 15-5 lead and never looked back while Lennon recorded seven kills on eight attacks.
Set 2
In set two both teams took turns at taking the lead before Rice appeared to take control of the match by grabbing set point at 24-21. However, SFA reeled off five straight points to win 26-24.
Set 3
Set three was played very similar to the game prior with neither team gaining more than a two point advantage until the Ladyjacks went up 22-18. The Owls managed to close to within 24-22 but the Ladyjacks scored the final point.
Set 4
Lennon exploded for seven more kills in game four while Adekunle contributed five kills herself in a 25-17 victory. Rice hit .262 for the frame and the defense held SFA to a -.025 clip.
Set 5
The Ladyjacks led for a majority of the final frame until Rice erased a 13-10 deficit with four unanswered points. Lennon recorded her final two kills during that stretch and the Owls received two more points off SFA errors. However, SFA won the match with a 3-0 run, which included the match winner from Margaret Dean.
Up Next
The Owls return home to Tudor Fieldhouse to host No. 3 Texas (4-1) on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m. before closing out the non-conference season on Saturday, Sept. 21 against TCU (2 p.m.).
-RiceOwls.com-
Rice (9-1), who hadn't even trailed entering the fourth set all season, received a career performance from junior outside hitter Nicole Lennon in the loss. Just one day after setting a career-high with 26 kills, the Katy, Texas native bested that performance with 31 kills on a career-high 81 attacks and 22 digs. The 31 kills were the 11th-most by a Rice player in a single match while the 81 attacks tied Rebeca Pazo (2003) for the most swings by an Owl in program history.
The Owls had three players with 20 or more digs, led by Lee Ann Cunningham (34 digs), who fell just one dig shy of her career-high. In addition to Lennon's 22 digs, transfer Tabitha Brown established a season-high with 24 digs over five sets.
Senior setter Adria Martinez posted her first double-double of the season with 50 assists/15 digs while Anota Adekunle (16 kills/.378) and Grace Morgan (10 kills/.308) joined Lennon in double-figure kills.
Despite the loss, Rice outnumbered the Ladyjacks in total attacks (212-208), kills (76-57), hitting percentage (.226-.154), assists (72-51) and digs (113-90).
Postgame Reaction…
"We needed more production and balance to win the match today. It was a back-and-forth battle that could have gone either way but in the end SFA was the team that made the big play when it mattered."
Set 1
The Owls opened the match sizzling offensively, hitting .500 as a team with 17 kills on 30 attacks en route to a 25-18 victory. Rice jumped out to a 15-5 lead and never looked back while Lennon recorded seven kills on eight attacks.
Set 2
In set two both teams took turns at taking the lead before Rice appeared to take control of the match by grabbing set point at 24-21. However, SFA reeled off five straight points to win 26-24.
Set 3
Set three was played very similar to the game prior with neither team gaining more than a two point advantage until the Ladyjacks went up 22-18. The Owls managed to close to within 24-22 but the Ladyjacks scored the final point.
Set 4
Lennon exploded for seven more kills in game four while Adekunle contributed five kills herself in a 25-17 victory. Rice hit .262 for the frame and the defense held SFA to a -.025 clip.
Set 5
The Ladyjacks led for a majority of the final frame until Rice erased a 13-10 deficit with four unanswered points. Lennon recorded her final two kills during that stretch and the Owls received two more points off SFA errors. However, SFA won the match with a 3-0 run, which included the match winner from Margaret Dean.
The Owls return home to Tudor Fieldhouse to host No. 3 Texas (4-1) on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m. before closing out the non-conference season on Saturday, Sept. 21 against TCU (2 p.m.).
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
RICE
SFA
Kills
77
57
Errors
28
25
Attempts
213
208
Hitting %
.230
.154
Points
83.0
68.0
Assists
72
51
Aces
1
4
Blocks
5.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
32
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballMB
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