Volleyball Picked to Repeat as West Division Champs

HOUSTON – The No. 23 ranked Rice Owls volleyball team was picked to defend their Conference USA West Division crown in the fall preseason poll as voted on by the league's 14 head coaches, the C-USA office announced on Tuesday.

Rice enters the season on the heels of their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and a No. 23 final ranking in the AVCA Top-25 Poll. The Owls return 14 letterwinners, including six starters.

Senior outside hitter Nicole Lennon, the reigning C-USA Player of the Year, was named this season's Preseason Player of the Year for the second time in her Rice career, as well as the Preseason Team for a fourth straight year.

Lennon is coming off a season in which she earned AVCA All-American Third Team honors and VolleyballMag.com Second Team All-American accolades. In addition, Lennon was named to the AVCA Southwest Region Team, the C-USA All-Tournament Team, and the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team and C-USA All-Academic Team. Lennon ranked second in C-USA last season in points per set (5.03), total kills (329), total points (387.5), kills per set (4.27), attacks per set (10.97), and total attacks (845). The Katy, Texas native enters her final season with 1,742 career kills.

In addition to Lennon, junior setter Carly Graham and junior middle blocker Anota Adekunle were also tabbed to the Preseason Team.

Graham, from Spring, Texas, earned her first C-USA Preseason Team nod after a season in which she earned C-USA Setter of the Year honors. A VolleyballMag.com Honorable Mention All-American last year, Graham orchestrated a Rice offense that ranked 19th in the NCAA in hitting percentage (.268) and earned C-USA First Team and AVCA Southwest Region accolades in her first full season as the Owls primary setter. She ranked second in C-USA last season in assists per set (10.39).

Adekunle returns for a fourth season as a stabilizing force in the middle for the Owls. The Humble, Texas native earned VolleyballMag.com Honorable Mention All-American honors last spring following a season in which she ranked fourth in the NCAA Division I in hitting percentage (.463). Adekunle was named to the AVCA All-Region Team and the C-USA First Team after a season in which she hit .300 or better in 14 of 17 matches played. The C-USA Preseason Team selection is the second of Adekunle's career.

The Owls open the 2021 fall season this Friday, Aug. 27 at 4 p.m. when they face No. 9 ranked Pittsburgh in match one of the South Carolina Classic. Rice will then take on host South Carolina on Saturday, Aug. 28 at 9 a.m. CT on SEC Network+.

C-USA Preseason Team
Emani Foster, Charlotte
Ciara Debell, Marshall
Destiny Leon, Marshall
Rhett Robinson, North Texas
Anota Adekunle, Rice
Carly Graham, Rice
Nicole Lennon, Rice
Fernanda Maida, UAB
Serena Patterson, UTEP
Paige Briggs, WKU
Nadia Dieudonne, WKU
Lauren Matthews, WKU

Preseason Player of the Year: Nicole Lennon, Rice

C-USA 2021 Volleyball Preseason Poll:
EAST
1. WKU (5)
2. Charlotte (1)
3. Marshall
4. Middle Tennessee
5. Old Dominion
6. Florida Atlantic
7. FIU (1)
WEST
1. Rice (7)
2. UTEP
3. North Texas
4. UAB
5. UTSA
6. Southern Miss
7. Louisiana Tech

-RiceOwls.com-

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