Thursday, September 2
Houston, TX
6:00 P.M. CT
Rice University
0-3
1
vs
3
No. 13 Oregon
4-0
1
2
3
4
F
Oregon
25
23
25
25
3
Rice
23
25
23
21
1
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
No. 13 Oregon Defeats Owls in Four Sets
9/2/2021 10:39:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Four Owls register double-figure kills in setback
HOUSTON – Four different Rice Owls tallied 10 or more kills and three registered double-doubles, but it wasn't enough to slow down the No. 13 Oregon Ducks in a 3-1 loss (23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 21-25) Thursday evening in the home opener at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Rice (0-3) received double-doubles from senior outside hitter Nicole Lennon (20 kills/14 digs), junior setter Carly Graham (48 assists/career-high 20 digs), and freshman outside hitter Sahara Maruska (10 kills/14 digs) while junior middle blocker Anota Adekunle (13 kills) and right side Ellie Bichelmeyer (13 kills) each contributed double-digit kills to the Rice attack.
The Ducks (3-0) outhit Rice .228-.184 while the two teams tied in total digs, 97-97. Oregon also posted 12.0 team blocks compared to just 6.0 by the Owls.
Freshman libero Nia McCardell recorded a match and team season-high 26 digs in the loss.
Oregon's Brooke Nuneviller led all players with 31 kills on 74 attacks (.338).
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Despite six kills from Lennon, the Ducks managed to outscore the Owls 3-1 to break a 22-22 tie and win 25-23. In total, there were seven ties and a pair of lead changes but four service errors helped provide Oregon the edge to go along with a slightly better 65 to 60 sideout rate. Graham dished out 12 assists in the frame but Rice hit just .186 as a team.
Second Set
For a third straight match the Owls recovered nicely from an opening set loss by winning set two, this time by a score of 25-23 in dramatic fashion. Trailing 23-21, the Owls reeled off four unanswered points to tie the match 1-1. Freshman middle blocker Shaylee Shore, who made her first career start, started the run with a kill followed by a Bichelmeyer strike to even the score 23-23. After an attacking error by the Ducks, Bichelmeyer put the game away with one of her five kills in the set.
Third Set
Rice looked to have control of the set after they jumped out to a 17-11 advantage, however, Oregon came storming back before eventually winning 25-23 with a 14-6 run. Nuneviller put the Ducks on her back with 10 kills in the frame on 23 swings. A controversial touching call clinched the game's final point for the Ducks but not before a 20-plus minute review confirmed the ruling on the floor.
Fourth Set
The Ducks controlled much of the final frame, outhitting the Owls .262-.122 and eventually winning 25-21. The Owls fought until the very end, holding off four consecutive match points before the Ducks completed the victory.
UP NEXT
The Owls close out the Adidas Invitational I tournament on Saturday when they host the SMU Mustangs at 1 p.m. That match will be streamed on CUSAtv.
Rice (0-3) received double-doubles from senior outside hitter Nicole Lennon (20 kills/14 digs), junior setter Carly Graham (48 assists/career-high 20 digs), and freshman outside hitter Sahara Maruska (10 kills/14 digs) while junior middle blocker Anota Adekunle (13 kills) and right side Ellie Bichelmeyer (13 kills) each contributed double-digit kills to the Rice attack.
The Ducks (3-0) outhit Rice .228-.184 while the two teams tied in total digs, 97-97. Oregon also posted 12.0 team blocks compared to just 6.0 by the Owls.
Freshman libero Nia McCardell recorded a match and team season-high 26 digs in the loss.
Oregon's Brooke Nuneviller led all players with 31 kills on 74 attacks (.338).
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Despite six kills from Lennon, the Ducks managed to outscore the Owls 3-1 to break a 22-22 tie and win 25-23. In total, there were seven ties and a pair of lead changes but four service errors helped provide Oregon the edge to go along with a slightly better 65 to 60 sideout rate. Graham dished out 12 assists in the frame but Rice hit just .186 as a team.
Second Set
For a third straight match the Owls recovered nicely from an opening set loss by winning set two, this time by a score of 25-23 in dramatic fashion. Trailing 23-21, the Owls reeled off four unanswered points to tie the match 1-1. Freshman middle blocker Shaylee Shore, who made her first career start, started the run with a kill followed by a Bichelmeyer strike to even the score 23-23. After an attacking error by the Ducks, Bichelmeyer put the game away with one of her five kills in the set.
Third Set
Rice looked to have control of the set after they jumped out to a 17-11 advantage, however, Oregon came storming back before eventually winning 25-23 with a 14-6 run. Nuneviller put the Ducks on her back with 10 kills in the frame on 23 swings. A controversial touching call clinched the game's final point for the Ducks but not before a 20-plus minute review confirmed the ruling on the floor.
Fourth Set
The Ducks controlled much of the final frame, outhitting the Owls .262-.122 and eventually winning 25-21. The Owls fought until the very end, holding off four consecutive match points before the Ducks completed the victory.
UP NEXT
The Owls close out the Adidas Invitational I tournament on Saturday when they host the SMU Mustangs at 1 p.m. That match will be streamed on CUSAtv.
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
OREGON
RICE
Kills
63
61
Errors
19
25
Attempts
193
196
Hitting %
.228
.184
Points
78.0
67.0
Assists
58
57
Aces
3
0
Blocks
12.0
6.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
20
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's Volleyball
MB/RS
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