Sunday, October 16
Houston, TX
1:00 P.M. CT
Rice University
-172,70 CUSA
3
vs
2
Charlotte
-811,25 CUSA
1
2
3
4
5
F
Charlotte
23
25
19
25
11
2
Rice
25
23
25
22
15
3
No. 22 Rice Wins Five-Set Thriller over Charlotte
10/16/2022 5:14:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Houston, Texas – The No. 22 Rice Owls volleyball team and Charlotte played a thrilling five-set match with the Owls coming out on top, 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-11) Sunday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Rice (17-2, 7-0) improved to 7-1 in five-set matches this year and has won the last six. The the highly contested match, the Owls hit .260 while Charlotte hit .273.
Rice was led by its front line. Ellie Bichelmeyer set a career-high with 21 kills while hitting .472. Anota Adekunle had 20 kills, her second 20 kill match of the year, and hit .447.
Junior Nia McCardell had 22 digs and a career-high eight assists and fifth year setter Carly Graham had 50 assists, the fifth time this year she's had 50+ assists, and added 10 digs for her seventh double-double of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Rice was forced to play from behind early as Charlotte scored the first six points of the match. But the Owls chipped away at the lead, eventually taking a 14-13 advantage. The teams battled back-and-forth, but with the set tied at 20, Rice scored five of the next eight points to win, 25-23. Rice hit .333 in the set and Bichelmeyer led all players with five kills.
Second Set
After the teams traded points to begin the set, Charlotte took a 14-10 lead. Rice scored five straight to regain the advantage. The teams battled the rest of the match. With the match tied at 21, Rice took a two-point lead. But Charlotte rattled off four straight points and took the set 25-23, that saw 13 ties and seven lead changes. Bichelmeyer again led the Owls with a .571 hitting percentage behind five kills.
Third Set
The third set was closely contested throughout, with the teams combining for 11 ties. Charlotte led, 5-4, but it would be its last lead of the set. With Rice leading 18-17, the Owls closed the set on a 7-2 run to win it, 25-19. The Owls hit .355 in the set and held Charlotte to .242. Akunle lead led all players with six kills while hitting .750.
Fourth Set
After an early back-and-forth set, Rice jumped out to a 16-12 lead. But the 49ers scored seven of the next 10 points to tie the set at 19. Four straight points gave Charlotte a 23-19 lead. Rice responded with three straight of its own to pull within 23-21, but Charlotte scored two of the final three to force a fifth set. Rice hit .243 in the set while the 49ers hit .325. Adekunle was six-of-seven on the attack to hit .857.
Fifth Set
Rice jumped out to a 3-1 lead before Charlotte scored six of the next eight points to lead 7-5. Rice took an 11-10 lead, and after the 49ers tied it, Rice closed the match winning four straight. Bichelmeyer had five kills in the set and hit .500.
UP NEXT
The Owls will play their only match of the week this Friday, Oct. 21, when it hosts FIU at 6 p.m. in Tudor Fieldhouse.
Rice (17-2, 7-0) improved to 7-1 in five-set matches this year and has won the last six. The the highly contested match, the Owls hit .260 while Charlotte hit .273.
Rice was led by its front line. Ellie Bichelmeyer set a career-high with 21 kills while hitting .472. Anota Adekunle had 20 kills, her second 20 kill match of the year, and hit .447.
Junior Nia McCardell had 22 digs and a career-high eight assists and fifth year setter Carly Graham had 50 assists, the fifth time this year she's had 50+ assists, and added 10 digs for her seventh double-double of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Rice was forced to play from behind early as Charlotte scored the first six points of the match. But the Owls chipped away at the lead, eventually taking a 14-13 advantage. The teams battled back-and-forth, but with the set tied at 20, Rice scored five of the next eight points to win, 25-23. Rice hit .333 in the set and Bichelmeyer led all players with five kills.
Second Set
After the teams traded points to begin the set, Charlotte took a 14-10 lead. Rice scored five straight to regain the advantage. The teams battled the rest of the match. With the match tied at 21, Rice took a two-point lead. But Charlotte rattled off four straight points and took the set 25-23, that saw 13 ties and seven lead changes. Bichelmeyer again led the Owls with a .571 hitting percentage behind five kills.
Third Set
The third set was closely contested throughout, with the teams combining for 11 ties. Charlotte led, 5-4, but it would be its last lead of the set. With Rice leading 18-17, the Owls closed the set on a 7-2 run to win it, 25-19. The Owls hit .355 in the set and held Charlotte to .242. Akunle lead led all players with six kills while hitting .750.
Fourth Set
After an early back-and-forth set, Rice jumped out to a 16-12 lead. But the 49ers scored seven of the next 10 points to tie the set at 19. Four straight points gave Charlotte a 23-19 lead. Rice responded with three straight of its own to pull within 23-21, but Charlotte scored two of the final three to force a fifth set. Rice hit .243 in the set while the 49ers hit .325. Adekunle was six-of-seven on the attack to hit .857.
Fifth Set
Rice jumped out to a 3-1 lead before Charlotte scored six of the next eight points to lead 7-5. Rice took an 11-10 lead, and after the 49ers tied it, Rice closed the match winning four straight. Bichelmeyer had five kills in the set and hit .500.
UP NEXT
The Owls will play their only match of the week this Friday, Oct. 21, when it hosts FIU at 6 p.m. in Tudor Fieldhouse.
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
CLT
Rice
Kills
57
70
Errors
16
25
Attempts
150
173
Hitting %
.273
.260
Points
76
87
Assists
52
66
Aces
7
12
Blocks
12
5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
21
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
20
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
4
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
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