Friday, September 16
Houston, TX
6:00 P.M. CT
Rice University
-91,00 CUSA
3
vs
2
Kansas State
9-3,0-0Big 12
1
2
3
4
5
F
Kansas St.
25
26
21
18
13
2
Rice
20
24
25
25
15
3
Owls Notch Reverse Sweep Over Kansas St.
9/16/2022 9:46:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Improve to 9-1 on the season
HOUSTON – The Rice Owls volleyball team dug themselves out of a 2-0 hole to win in five sets with a reverse sweep victory (20-25, 24-26, 25-21, 25-18, 15-13) Friday evening over the Kansas State Wildcats at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Rice (9-1) opened the first day of the Rice Adidas Invitational II by improving to 3-1 this season in five-set matches, placing four players in double-figure kills.
Fifth year middle blocker Anota Adekunle led the Owls with 15 kills while hitting .522 to go along with a team-best six blocks while junior outside hitter Sahara Maruska registered 13 kills, including the match-clincher. Senior right side Ellie Bichelmeyer contributed 12 kills while junior outside hitter Danyle Courtley tallied 11 kills.
Three-time C-USA Defensive Player of the Week Nia McCardell totaled a team-high 20 digs, her fifth match of the season with 20+ digs. Fifth year setter Carly Graham dished out 51 assists over five sets while adding six kills and eight digs.
For a fifth straight match the Rice defense held an opponent under .200 hitting, limiting the Wildcats (8-3) to a .187 clip. The Owls' 8.0 team blocks were the second-highest total this season and the most since they recorded 14.0 blocks at LSU back on Aug. 27.
The Owls improved to 11-9 against Power-5 programs dating back to 2019 and have now won 11 consecutive matches at Tudor Fieldhouse dating back to last season.
Postgame Reaction - Head Coach Genny Volpe
"I don't think anything flipped for us, it just took us too long to play our game. Defensively we were out of whack and they were out-defending us. We were not very disciplined and we were not very happy with the way we were playing. I could sense that our defense was kind of affecting our offense. After two sets of it, our team was able to finally start executing at a high level, especially out of the middle with Anota. We started serving a little better where we had been struggling. We just have to clean those areas up. I thought they (Kansas State) did a good job of attacking us but once we did a better job of putting up a better block that helped us. We started making little adjustments along the way and Izzy Rawlings gave us a boost with her serves. It was a total team effort and we showed some composure. We'll have to come out on the attack more next time, especially against Creighton."
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Kansas State broke a 19-19 tie by outscoring the Owls 6-1 down the stretch to win 25-20. The Wildcats' block gave Rice issues, collecting 5.0 team blocks and forcing seven attack errors. Courtley totaled four kills in the game to lead Rice by the attack errors combined with five service errors proved costly.
Second Set
The Wildcats hit .308 in a tightly contested game that saw 16 ties and four lead changes, eventually winning 26-24. Adekunle (5 kills) and Bichelmeyer (4 kills) paced the Rice offense but the Owls were unable to slow down the Kansas State attack.
Third Set
The Owls used their late momentum at the end of set two to get back in the match with a 25-21 victory. Maruska came alive with five kills while Bichelmeyer added four more and the Rice defense held the Wildcats to a .159 hitting percentage. Rice closed the game on a 9-5 run.
Fourth Set
Rice used a 10-2 run midway through the frame to take control before eventually winning, 25-18. Adekunle and Graham recorded three kills apiece and McCardell contributed a pair of aces in the win. The Wildcats committed eight attack errors and three service errors.
Fifth Set
Aside from the first point, the Owls never trailed again in the final game and they held off a late charge from Kansas State to win 15-13. Adekunle was a perfect 4-of-4 on attacks and Rice hit .318 as a team with Graham assisting on 10 of the 11 Rice kills.
UP NEXT
The Owls will have Saturday off before returning to the court on Sunday when they host No. 17 Creighton at 1 p.m. from Tudor Fieldhouse.
Rice (9-1) opened the first day of the Rice Adidas Invitational II by improving to 3-1 this season in five-set matches, placing four players in double-figure kills.
Fifth year middle blocker Anota Adekunle led the Owls with 15 kills while hitting .522 to go along with a team-best six blocks while junior outside hitter Sahara Maruska registered 13 kills, including the match-clincher. Senior right side Ellie Bichelmeyer contributed 12 kills while junior outside hitter Danyle Courtley tallied 11 kills.
Three-time C-USA Defensive Player of the Week Nia McCardell totaled a team-high 20 digs, her fifth match of the season with 20+ digs. Fifth year setter Carly Graham dished out 51 assists over five sets while adding six kills and eight digs.
For a fifth straight match the Rice defense held an opponent under .200 hitting, limiting the Wildcats (8-3) to a .187 clip. The Owls' 8.0 team blocks were the second-highest total this season and the most since they recorded 14.0 blocks at LSU back on Aug. 27.
The Owls improved to 11-9 against Power-5 programs dating back to 2019 and have now won 11 consecutive matches at Tudor Fieldhouse dating back to last season.
"I don't think anything flipped for us, it just took us too long to play our game. Defensively we were out of whack and they were out-defending us. We were not very disciplined and we were not very happy with the way we were playing. I could sense that our defense was kind of affecting our offense. After two sets of it, our team was able to finally start executing at a high level, especially out of the middle with Anota. We started serving a little better where we had been struggling. We just have to clean those areas up. I thought they (Kansas State) did a good job of attacking us but once we did a better job of putting up a better block that helped us. We started making little adjustments along the way and Izzy Rawlings gave us a boost with her serves. It was a total team effort and we showed some composure. We'll have to come out on the attack more next time, especially against Creighton."
First Set
Kansas State broke a 19-19 tie by outscoring the Owls 6-1 down the stretch to win 25-20. The Wildcats' block gave Rice issues, collecting 5.0 team blocks and forcing seven attack errors. Courtley totaled four kills in the game to lead Rice by the attack errors combined with five service errors proved costly.
Second Set
The Wildcats hit .308 in a tightly contested game that saw 16 ties and four lead changes, eventually winning 26-24. Adekunle (5 kills) and Bichelmeyer (4 kills) paced the Rice offense but the Owls were unable to slow down the Kansas State attack.
Third Set
The Owls used their late momentum at the end of set two to get back in the match with a 25-21 victory. Maruska came alive with five kills while Bichelmeyer added four more and the Rice defense held the Wildcats to a .159 hitting percentage. Rice closed the game on a 9-5 run.
Fourth Set
Rice used a 10-2 run midway through the frame to take control before eventually winning, 25-18. Adekunle and Graham recorded three kills apiece and McCardell contributed a pair of aces in the win. The Wildcats committed eight attack errors and three service errors.
Fifth Set
Aside from the first point, the Owls never trailed again in the final game and they held off a late charge from Kansas State to win 15-13. Adekunle was a perfect 4-of-4 on attacks and Rice hit .318 as a team with Graham assisting on 10 of the 11 Rice kills.
The Owls will have Saturday off before returning to the court on Sunday when they host No. 17 Creighton at 1 p.m. from Tudor Fieldhouse.
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
KState
Rice
Kills
59
62
Errors
27
23
Attempts
171
166
Hitting %
.187
.235
Points
80
78
Assists
53
60
Aces
7
8
Blocks
14
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
2
Blocks
6
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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