Owls Remain Unbeaten in C-USA, Sweep Blazers Again

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Women's Volleyball

vs #5 Seed Wichita State

Nov 22

11 AM

Tampa, Fla.

HOUSTON – Behind a balanced scoring attack and a stingy defense, the Rice Owls volleyball team won their sixth straight match via a sweep by taking down the Blazers 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-14) Monday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse.

The Owls (7-3, 6-0) ran their sets winning streak to 18 straight by outhitting the Blazers (4-5, 3-3) by a margin of .316-.050. Rice outgained UAB in kills (43-24), assists (42-24), digs (48-36) and team blocks (8.0-3.0).

Sophomore pin Ellie Bichelmeyer led the Rice offense by tying a career-high with 12 kills on 26 attacks while freshman Sahara Maruska totaled nine kills on 16 swings for a strong .438 hitting clip. Senior outside hitter Nicole Lennon chipped in eight kills while junior middle blocker Anota Adekunle had an efficient seven kills on 10 attacks (.600).

Rice junior setter Carly Graham controlled the match with a stellar all-around performance, contributing 30 assists, nine digs, four kills, and four blocks. Freshman libero Nia McCardell led all players with 15 digs.

Postgame Reaction from Head Coach Genny Volpe
"I'm pleased with some of the adjustments and improvements in certain areas of our game from yesterday to today. I think Carly is proving she is one of the very best at her position. She made some great reads today, found ways to score and just made solid improvements along the way. Our defense improved a ton, which allowed us to have a very balanced offense. It was a solid all-around team effort this weekend."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
The Owls fell behind 7-3 but rallied to take the opening set, 25-20. After nine ties and three lead changes the Owls took the lead for good after going up 17-16 on a combo block by Adekunle and Graham. UAB pulled to within 21-20 but Rice ended the game on a 4-0 run with a pair of kills from Bichelmeyer and kills by Maruska and Graham. The Blazers committed five service errors in the set and Rice totaled 15 kills as a team, led by six from Bichelmeyer.
Set 2
Rice controlled much of the second game before UAB closed the gap to 22-20. However, the Owls scored three consecutive points to win 25-20 following a kill from Graham and consecutive errors by the Blazers. The Owls hit .355 as a team in the set, led by seven kills from Maruska on nine attacks.
Set 3
The Owls put the finishing touches on a 3-0 sweep by winning the final frame, 25-14. Adekunle, Bichelmeyer, and Lennon all notched three kills apiece while the defense held UAB to a -.091 hitting clip. Rice posted an 80 percent sideout rate in the game and the Blazers committed nine attack errors.

Up Next
The Owls hit the road for a pair of matches at UTSA in San Antonio next weekend, Feb. 28-Mar. 1. Both matches will begin at 1 p.m. and streamed on CUSAtv.

-RiceOwls.com-

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