Thursday, December 2
Austin, Texas
4:00 P.M. CT
Rice University
-206,120 CUSA
3
vs
0
San Diego (1st Round)
20-8,14-4WCC
1
2
3
F
Rice
25
25
25
3
San Diego
20
19
20
0
Owls Sweep San Diego in Opening Round of NCAA Tournament
12/2/2021 8:14:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Will face No. 2 ranked Texas on Friday at 8 p.m. on LHN
AUSTIN – The Rice Owls volleyball team advanced to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament with an impressive 3-0 sweep (25-20, 25-19, 25-20) over San Diego Thursday afternoon at Gregory Gym.
Rice (20-6, 12-0) won their second NCAA Tournament match in program history and will next face the No. 2 overall seed Texas Longhorns (24-1, 15-1) for the second time this season on Friday at 8 p.m. on the Longhorn Network.
The Owls handed the Toreros (20-8, 14-4) just their third sweep of the season by winning the hitting percentage battle, .321-.179. Rice's hitting clip was the third-highest allowed by San Diego all season.
Rice outgained San Diego in kills (47-39), digs (53-39), blocks (8.0-5.0), and sideout percentage (68.3-54.1). The Owls had five players post seven or more kills and posted 15 or more team kills in all three sets.
Rice senior outside hitter Nicole Lennon led all players with 15 kills for the Owls while hitting .333 and was one of five players with two or more blocks. Senior setter Carly Graham distributed 31 assists and just missed out on a double-double with nine digs on a day where she recorded her 3,000th career assist.
Junior right side Ellie Bichelmeyer (.500) and freshman middle blocker Shaylee Shore (.538) each had efficient offensive matches with 8 kills apiece and established a new Rice single-match hitting percentage clip in an NCAA Tournament match. Senior middle blocker Anota Adekunle and sophomore outside hitter Sahara Maruska totaled 7 kills each.
Postgame Reaction - Head Coach Genny Volpe
"We're extremely excited about the results of that match. I couldn't be prouder of this team. They came out with a true knowledge of what they wanted to accomplish and didn't take anything for granted. They took one point at a time and executed at an extremely high level. I felt like our serve and pass game was extremely strong today and it's going to continue to need to be for us to move on in this NCAA Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
After falling behind 4-1, the Owls quickly responded with a 10-2 run to take control of the set before eventually winning 25-20. Lennon paced the Rice offense with six kills on 16 attacks with Maruska adding an additional four kills. The Owls hit .361 as a team while limiting San Diego to a .222 clip. Senior Tia Grippo totaled four of her team-leading 12 kills in the game while Adekunle and Lennon recorded solo blocks.
Second Set
Rice never trailed after taking a 3-2 lead as the Owls rode the hot hand of Shore, who totaled six kills on seven attacks in a 25-19 victory. Graham dished out 12 assists and the Owls registered 16 team kills. Lennon added four more kills in the win.
Third Set
The two teams played to 10 ties and four lead changes but the Owls closed on a 12-7 run to win the set 25-20 and the match 3-0. Lennon (5 kills) and Bichelmeyer (4 kills) led the offensive attack as Rice hit .333 as a team.
UP NEXT
The Owls will face the Longhorns for the fourth time in the last three seasons on Friday at 8 p.m. on the Longhorn Network. Rice has defeated the Longhorns in two of the last three meetings, including a five-set victory the last time the two teams played in Austin on Mar. 23, 2021.
Rice (20-6, 12-0) won their second NCAA Tournament match in program history and will next face the No. 2 overall seed Texas Longhorns (24-1, 15-1) for the second time this season on Friday at 8 p.m. on the Longhorn Network.
The Owls handed the Toreros (20-8, 14-4) just their third sweep of the season by winning the hitting percentage battle, .321-.179. Rice's hitting clip was the third-highest allowed by San Diego all season.
Rice outgained San Diego in kills (47-39), digs (53-39), blocks (8.0-5.0), and sideout percentage (68.3-54.1). The Owls had five players post seven or more kills and posted 15 or more team kills in all three sets.
Rice senior outside hitter Nicole Lennon led all players with 15 kills for the Owls while hitting .333 and was one of five players with two or more blocks. Senior setter Carly Graham distributed 31 assists and just missed out on a double-double with nine digs on a day where she recorded her 3,000th career assist.
Junior right side Ellie Bichelmeyer (.500) and freshman middle blocker Shaylee Shore (.538) each had efficient offensive matches with 8 kills apiece and established a new Rice single-match hitting percentage clip in an NCAA Tournament match. Senior middle blocker Anota Adekunle and sophomore outside hitter Sahara Maruska totaled 7 kills each.
"We're extremely excited about the results of that match. I couldn't be prouder of this team. They came out with a true knowledge of what they wanted to accomplish and didn't take anything for granted. They took one point at a time and executed at an extremely high level. I felt like our serve and pass game was extremely strong today and it's going to continue to need to be for us to move on in this NCAA Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
After falling behind 4-1, the Owls quickly responded with a 10-2 run to take control of the set before eventually winning 25-20. Lennon paced the Rice offense with six kills on 16 attacks with Maruska adding an additional four kills. The Owls hit .361 as a team while limiting San Diego to a .222 clip. Senior Tia Grippo totaled four of her team-leading 12 kills in the game while Adekunle and Lennon recorded solo blocks.
Second Set
Rice never trailed after taking a 3-2 lead as the Owls rode the hot hand of Shore, who totaled six kills on seven attacks in a 25-19 victory. Graham dished out 12 assists and the Owls registered 16 team kills. Lennon added four more kills in the win.
Third Set
The two teams played to 10 ties and four lead changes but the Owls closed on a 12-7 run to win the set 25-20 and the match 3-0. Lennon (5 kills) and Bichelmeyer (4 kills) led the offensive attack as Rice hit .333 as a team.
The Owls will face the Longhorns for the fourth time in the last three seasons on Friday at 8 p.m. on the Longhorn Network. Rice has defeated the Longhorns in two of the last three meetings, including a five-set victory the last time the two teams played in Austin on Mar. 23, 2021.
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
Rice
SD
Kills
47
39
Errors
12
18
Attempts
109
117
Hitting %
.321
.179
Points
58
47
Assists
39
35
Aces
3
3
Blocks
8
5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballMB/RS
/ Women's VolleyballVB: Rice-Texas Postgame Presser
Saturday, December 04
VB: Rice-San Diego Postgame Presser
Thursday, December 02