Friday, November 18
Bowling Green, KY
5 p.m.
Rice University
-243,131 CUSA
3
vs
0
FIU
-821,59 CUSA
1
2
3
F
FIU
24
22
17
0
Rice
26
25
25
3
Owls Advance With Sweep of FIU
11/18/2022 8:57:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Will face UTEP at 2:30 Saturday
BOWLING GREEN, KY. - The No.22 Rice Owls volleyball team kicked off their Conference-USA tournament with a sweep against the FIU panthers 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-18), Friday night at Diddle Arena.
Rice (24-3, 13-1) posted its 15th sweep of the season. The Owls hit .280 on the day while FIU hit .164.
Junior Sahara Maruska matched her season-high season, hitting .359 (17-for-39), while Anota Adekunle had ten kills and eight blocks.C-USA Setter of the Year Carley Graham had 37 assists while also hitting 4-for-5, and C-USA Libero of the Year Nia McCardell had a match-high 13 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
The Owls started the first set of the tournament with momentum, outscoring FIU 7-1. But the Panthers fashioned a 7-0 run to set the tone for the rest of the closely-played set as neither team could build a two point-advantage until a key kill by Ellie Bichelmeyer, to put Rice up 21-19. A kill by Adekunle put the Owls at set point and Izzy Rawling came off the bench with an ace to win it for the Owls 26-24 Maruska led with four kills while Danyle Courtley and Nia McCardell both had four digs.
Second Set
Helped by two consecutive kills by Courtley, Rice raced in front 9-4 to force a timeout by FIU. The Panthers rallied to cut the lead to 10-9. Kills by Courtley and Graham, opened the lead to five, 20-15, but the Panthers once again closed the gap before finish by Maruska gave the Owls the second set 25-22. Maruska was six for eight (.750) while Rice hit .385.
Third Set
Looking to close out the sweep, Rice opened with a 5-0 run, and extended the margin to 9-2. But FIU once again rallied and took a 14-12 lead. Led by Adekunle, the Owls answered with a 9-0 run of their own and completed the sweep with another block by Adekunle. Maruska hit seven for eight (.875) while Adekunle had three kills and three blocks, the Owls hit .323 as a team.
UP NEXT
The Owls will face UTEP tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. (CT) at Diddle Arena for the CUSA tournament semifinal.
Rice (24-3, 13-1) posted its 15th sweep of the season. The Owls hit .280 on the day while FIU hit .164.
Junior Sahara Maruska matched her season-high season, hitting .359 (17-for-39), while Anota Adekunle had ten kills and eight blocks.C-USA Setter of the Year Carley Graham had 37 assists while also hitting 4-for-5, and C-USA Libero of the Year Nia McCardell had a match-high 13 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
The Owls started the first set of the tournament with momentum, outscoring FIU 7-1. But the Panthers fashioned a 7-0 run to set the tone for the rest of the closely-played set as neither team could build a two point-advantage until a key kill by Ellie Bichelmeyer, to put Rice up 21-19. A kill by Adekunle put the Owls at set point and Izzy Rawling came off the bench with an ace to win it for the Owls 26-24 Maruska led with four kills while Danyle Courtley and Nia McCardell both had four digs.
Second Set
Helped by two consecutive kills by Courtley, Rice raced in front 9-4 to force a timeout by FIU. The Panthers rallied to cut the lead to 10-9. Kills by Courtley and Graham, opened the lead to five, 20-15, but the Panthers once again closed the gap before finish by Maruska gave the Owls the second set 25-22. Maruska was six for eight (.750) while Rice hit .385.
Third Set
Looking to close out the sweep, Rice opened with a 5-0 run, and extended the margin to 9-2. But FIU once again rallied and took a 14-12 lead. Led by Adekunle, the Owls answered with a 9-0 run of their own and completed the sweep with another block by Adekunle. Maruska hit seven for eight (.875) while Adekunle had three kills and three blocks, the Owls hit .323 as a team.
UP NEXT
The Owls will face UTEP tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. (CT) at Diddle Arena for the CUSA tournament semifinal.
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Team Stats
FIU
Rice
Kills
40
47
Errors
20
12
Attempts
122
125
Hitting %
.164
.280
Points
50
59
Assists
36
44
Aces
5
2
Blocks
5
10
Game Leaders
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH/RS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
L
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