Friday, March 19
Houston, TX
6:00 P.M. CT
Rice University
12-4
2
vs
3
No. 6 Baylor
18-4
1
2
3
4
5
F
Baylor
23
25
18
25
15
3
Rice
25
16
25
21
10
2
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Owls Fall in Five Sets to No. 6 Baylor
3/19/2021 10:10:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Rice closes regular season at Texas on Mar. 23
HOUSTON – The Rice Owls volleyball team saw their 12-match winning streak come to an end with a heartbreaking five-set loss to the No. 6 Baylor Bears Friday evening at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Rice (12-4) went toe-to-toe with the Bears (18-4) in a match that saw 28 ties and 10 lead changes. Senior outside hitter Nicole Lennon led the Owls with 15 kills and added 10 digs for her eighth double-double of the season while junior middle blocker Anota Adekunle also contributed double-figure kills with 10 on 17 attacks (.412).
Junior setter Carly Graham recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 43 assists and 13 digs, her fourth double-double in her last five matches. Freshman Sahara Maruska also gave the Owls a spark off the bench with nine kills while Ellie Bichelmeyer totaled eight kills.
The Owls managed to hold the explosive Baylor offense to a .233 hitting percentage but hit just .166 themselves. Baylor was led offensively by Yossiana Pressley, who led all players with 26 kills on 60 attacks while Lauren Harrison added 19 kills.
Postgame Reaction – Rice Head Coach Genny Volpe
"This Baylor match really did give us some confidence. We saw a lot of things that we do really well against a quality team. We obviously showed that we can compete with anyone in the country. The score was the score but I think the rallies and the level of play was extremely high. I think anyone who watched that match was highly entertained. This was a very positive experience. No one likes to lose but I think we learned a lot about ourselves."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
The Owls won the opening set 25-23 in a game in which they led almost throughout. Both teams hit .171 as a team but the Owls committed one fewer attacking error. Lennon paced the Owls with four kills while Tia Grippo and Izzy Rawlings each recorded an ace.
Set 2
Baylor bounced back with a convincing 25-16 victory in which they held the Owls to a -.056 hitting clip as Rice totaled just eight kills and committed 10 attack errors.
Set 3
The Owls posted their best offensive set of the night, hitting .290 as a team with Lennon and Maruska contributing four kills apiece. Pressley totaled nine kills for the Bears but overall Rice held Baylor to just a .175 hitting percentage in the win.
Set 4
The Bear forced a fifth and decisive set by winning set four, 25-21 behind nine more kills from Pressley. Maruska added five more kills and Adekunle chipped in four more.
Set 5
Baylor broke a 9-9 tie by outscoring the Owls 6-1 the rest of the way for the 15-10 victory. Lennon and Pressley canceled each other out with four kills apiece but Harrison added three more kills and the Owls made five attacking errors.
Up Next
The Owls will conclude the regular season next Tuesday when they travel to Austin to take on the No. 2 Texas Longhorns at 4 p.m.
Rice (12-4) went toe-to-toe with the Bears (18-4) in a match that saw 28 ties and 10 lead changes. Senior outside hitter Nicole Lennon led the Owls with 15 kills and added 10 digs for her eighth double-double of the season while junior middle blocker Anota Adekunle also contributed double-figure kills with 10 on 17 attacks (.412).
Junior setter Carly Graham recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 43 assists and 13 digs, her fourth double-double in her last five matches. Freshman Sahara Maruska also gave the Owls a spark off the bench with nine kills while Ellie Bichelmeyer totaled eight kills.
The Owls managed to hold the explosive Baylor offense to a .233 hitting percentage but hit just .166 themselves. Baylor was led offensively by Yossiana Pressley, who led all players with 26 kills on 60 attacks while Lauren Harrison added 19 kills.
"This Baylor match really did give us some confidence. We saw a lot of things that we do really well against a quality team. We obviously showed that we can compete with anyone in the country. The score was the score but I think the rallies and the level of play was extremely high. I think anyone who watched that match was highly entertained. This was a very positive experience. No one likes to lose but I think we learned a lot about ourselves."
Set 1
The Owls won the opening set 25-23 in a game in which they led almost throughout. Both teams hit .171 as a team but the Owls committed one fewer attacking error. Lennon paced the Owls with four kills while Tia Grippo and Izzy Rawlings each recorded an ace.
Set 2
Baylor bounced back with a convincing 25-16 victory in which they held the Owls to a -.056 hitting clip as Rice totaled just eight kills and committed 10 attack errors.
Set 3
The Owls posted their best offensive set of the night, hitting .290 as a team with Lennon and Maruska contributing four kills apiece. Pressley totaled nine kills for the Bears but overall Rice held Baylor to just a .175 hitting percentage in the win.
Set 4
The Bear forced a fifth and decisive set by winning set four, 25-21 behind nine more kills from Pressley. Maruska added five more kills and Adekunle chipped in four more.
Set 5
Baylor broke a 9-9 tie by outscoring the Owls 6-1 the rest of the way for the 15-10 victory. Lennon and Pressley canceled each other out with four kills apiece but Harrison added three more kills and the Owls made five attacking errors.
The Owls will conclude the regular season next Tuesday when they travel to Austin to take on the No. 2 Texas Longhorns at 4 p.m.
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
BAYLOR
RICE
Kills
63
55
Errors
23
27
Attempts
172
169
Hitting %
.233
.166
Points
81.0
67.0
Assists
56
54
Aces
5
2
Blocks
13.0
10.0
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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