Friday, October 22
Houston, TX
6:00 P.M. CT
Rice University
12-5, 7-0
3
vs
0
Southern Miss
10-13, 2-7
1
2
3
F
Southern Miss
13
11
17
0
Rice
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics
Volleyball Wins Seventh Straight
10/22/2021 8:17:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Owls cruise to sweep of Southern Miss
HOUSTON – The Rice Owls volleyball team played one of their more complete matches of the season by sweeping (25-13, 25-11, 25-17) the Southern Miss Golden Eagles Friday evening at Tudor Fieldhouse for their seventh straight victory.
Rice (12-5, 7-0) remained unbeaten in Conference USA competition by outhitting USM by a margin of .479-.101, a new season-high for the Owls in hitting percentage. The victory was the Owls' 21st consecutive regular season win within league play dating back to 2019.
The Owls distributed the offensive attack across the board with three players tallying double-figure kills, led by 12 from sophomore right side Ellie Bichelmeyer, who hit .647 on 17 attacks. Senior outside hitter Nicole Lennon added 11 kills on 23 attacks (.478) while junior middle blocker Anota Adekunle posted 10 kills on 17 attacks (.588). In addition, freshman middle blocker Shaylee Shore flirted with becoming the fourth Owl in double-figures with 8 kills on 12 swings (.667).
Junior setter Carly Graham totaled 35 assists while junior libero Elizabeth LaBue ran her streak of double-figure digs to seven straight with a match-high 16 digs. Lennon also added 10 digs to complete her ninth double-double of the season.
Rice (12-5, 7-0) remained unbeaten in Conference USA competition by outhitting USM by a margin of .479-.101, a new season-high for the Owls in hitting percentage. The victory was the Owls' 21st consecutive regular season win within league play dating back to 2019.
The Owls distributed the offensive attack across the board with three players tallying double-figure kills, led by 12 from sophomore right side Ellie Bichelmeyer, who hit .647 on 17 attacks. Senior outside hitter Nicole Lennon added 11 kills on 23 attacks (.478) while junior middle blocker Anota Adekunle posted 10 kills on 17 attacks (.588). In addition, freshman middle blocker Shaylee Shore flirted with becoming the fourth Owl in double-figures with 8 kills on 12 swings (.667).
Junior setter Carly Graham totaled 35 assists while junior libero Elizabeth LaBue ran her streak of double-figure digs to seven straight with a match-high 16 digs. Lennon also added 10 digs to complete her ninth double-double of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
The Owls dominated the opening frame with a .500 hitting clip, totaling 15 kills on 26 attacks en route to a 25-13 win. Shore (5 kills) and Lennon (4 kills) led the way offensively while the Rice defense allowed just four kills and held USM to a -.154 hitting percentage. The Owls totaled 3.0 team blocks in the set.
Second Set
Rice never relinquished that momentum as they stepped up their game even more in the second frame, defeating the Golden Eagles 25-11. Rice totaled 18 kills on 31 attacks (.581) and held a staggering 91 percent sideout rate. Adekunle (6 kills) and Bichelmeyer (5 kills) posed a potent 1-2 punch as Graham distributed 10 more assists.
Third Set
The Owls completed the sweep with a 25-17 victory as Bichelmeyer added five more kills and Graham was flawless orchestrating the offense with 15 assists on Rice's 16 kills. Rice never trailed in the frame.
UP NEXT
The Owls and Golden Eagles will face off again tomorrow at 12 p.m. from Tudor Fieldhouse on CUSAtv.
-RiceOwls.com-
First Set
The Owls dominated the opening frame with a .500 hitting clip, totaling 15 kills on 26 attacks en route to a 25-13 win. Shore (5 kills) and Lennon (4 kills) led the way offensively while the Rice defense allowed just four kills and held USM to a -.154 hitting percentage. The Owls totaled 3.0 team blocks in the set.
Second Set
Rice never relinquished that momentum as they stepped up their game even more in the second frame, defeating the Golden Eagles 25-11. Rice totaled 18 kills on 31 attacks (.581) and held a staggering 91 percent sideout rate. Adekunle (6 kills) and Bichelmeyer (5 kills) posed a potent 1-2 punch as Graham distributed 10 more assists.
Third Set
The Owls completed the sweep with a 25-17 victory as Bichelmeyer added five more kills and Graham was flawless orchestrating the offense with 15 assists on Rice's 16 kills. Rice never trailed in the frame.
UP NEXT
The Owls and Golden Eagles will face off again tomorrow at 12 p.m. from Tudor Fieldhouse on CUSAtv.
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
USM
RICE
Kills
28
49
Errors
18
4
Attempts
99
94
Hitting %
.101
.479
Points
31.0
58.0
Assists
26
44
Aces
3
2
Blocks
0.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB/RS
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