Sunday, September 18
Houston, TX
1:00 P.M. CT
Rice University
-101,00 CUSA
3
vs
2
No. 17 Creighton
8-3,0-0Big East
1
2
3
4
5
F
Creighton
22
25
25
21
14
2
Rice
25
22
22
25
16
3
Photo by: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics
Owls Take Down No. 17 Creighton
9/18/2022 5:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Adekunle records match-high 23 kills
HOUSTON – The Rice Owls volleyball team refused to be denied in a grueling, three-plus hour five-set victory over the No. 17 Creighton Bluejays Sunday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Rice (10-1) improved to 4-1 in five-set matches this season by totaling season-highs in kills (71), attacks (218), assist (67), digs (107), and solo blocks (6).
Fifth-year senior middle blocker Anota Adekunle had a memorable performance with a season and match-high 23 kills on 49 attacks (.408) to go along with six blocks and five digs. Junior outside hitter Sahara Maruska (13 kills/19 digs) and fifth-year setter Carly Graham (57 assists/14 digs) each recorded double-doubles while Ellie Bichelmeyer (12 kills) and Danyle Courtley (10 kills) each recorded double-digit kills.
Junior libero Nia McCardell eclipsed 30-plus digs in a match for a third time this season with 32 helpers while freshman defensive specialist Darby Harris contributed a season-high 17 digs.
Rice outhit the Bluejays by a margin of .252-.196 and the Owls capitalized on 32 Creighton attack errors.
Creighton (8-3) had five players in double-figure kills, led by 17 from Jazz Schmidt.
Postgame Reaction - Head Coach Genny Volpe
"We had such a great crowd supporting us today. Creighton is an awesome team and we have a ton of respect for them. Early on they made a couple of mistakes that were probably uncharacteristic of them that we tried to capitalize on. However, as the match went on it was just a fight. I'm really proud of how Carly (Graham) and Anota (Adekunle) just took over there for a while. Our first touch was great as were our backrow defenders. Overall, it was a great team effort and Sahara was clutch there in the final two sets. Like we talked about at the end of the game, we can never sell ourselves short of what we're capable of doing. We're always going to try and keep those standards high in the gym because there's more in us and we're excited to get into conference play."
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
The Owls took the opening frame, 25-22, as Rice hit .311 as a team while limiting Creighton to a .191 clip. Rice never trailed in the game and the Owls staved off a late comeback attempt by the Bluejays with consecutive kills from Adekunle and Courtley.
Second Set
Both teams struggled offensively in a 25-22 Bluejays win. Schmidt recorded seven kills to lead the way for Creighton and the 'Jays won despite 5.0 team blocks by the Owls.
Third Set
Creighton repeated the score from set two with another 25-22 win despite nine kills by Adekunle. The Owls had pulled to within 23-22 but Creighton scored the final two points on kills.
Fourth Set
Rice bounced back to force a fifth set with a 25-21 victory, behind a stellar offensive performance in which they hit .375 as a team with 18 kills on 40 attacks. Maruska had seven kills in the game on 16 swings while Adekunle contributed five kills on six attacks. Graham assisted on all 18 kills while on the flipside Creighton hit just .171.
Fifth Set
Courtley led all players with four kills in the final frame, including the match-winning 16th point. After four ties and three lead changes, Rice score the game's final two points on a block and kill from Courtley to break a 14-14 tie. Graham totaled eight digs in the final frame alone while McCardell recorded seven digs.
UP NEXT
The Owls will now gear up for C-USA play, which begins next weekend starting on Friday, Sept. 23 at home against UTSA at 6 p.m. Rice will then travel to Louisiana Tech on Sunday, Sept. 25 for a 1 p.m. first serve. Both matches will be streamed on CUSAtv.
Rice (10-1) improved to 4-1 in five-set matches this season by totaling season-highs in kills (71), attacks (218), assist (67), digs (107), and solo blocks (6).
Fifth-year senior middle blocker Anota Adekunle had a memorable performance with a season and match-high 23 kills on 49 attacks (.408) to go along with six blocks and five digs. Junior outside hitter Sahara Maruska (13 kills/19 digs) and fifth-year setter Carly Graham (57 assists/14 digs) each recorded double-doubles while Ellie Bichelmeyer (12 kills) and Danyle Courtley (10 kills) each recorded double-digit kills.
Junior libero Nia McCardell eclipsed 30-plus digs in a match for a third time this season with 32 helpers while freshman defensive specialist Darby Harris contributed a season-high 17 digs.
Rice outhit the Bluejays by a margin of .252-.196 and the Owls capitalized on 32 Creighton attack errors.
Creighton (8-3) had five players in double-figure kills, led by 17 from Jazz Schmidt.
🎥 Postgame reaction from @gennyvolpe after the Owls improve to 10-1 with a five-set victory over No. 17 Creighton. #GoOwls👐 x #RFND pic.twitter.com/L48ZipC2GZ
— Rice Volleyball (@RiceVolleyball) September 18, 2022
Postgame Reaction - Head Coach Genny Volpe
"We had such a great crowd supporting us today. Creighton is an awesome team and we have a ton of respect for them. Early on they made a couple of mistakes that were probably uncharacteristic of them that we tried to capitalize on. However, as the match went on it was just a fight. I'm really proud of how Carly (Graham) and Anota (Adekunle) just took over there for a while. Our first touch was great as were our backrow defenders. Overall, it was a great team effort and Sahara was clutch there in the final two sets. Like we talked about at the end of the game, we can never sell ourselves short of what we're capable of doing. We're always going to try and keep those standards high in the gym because there's more in us and we're excited to get into conference play."
First Set
The Owls took the opening frame, 25-22, as Rice hit .311 as a team while limiting Creighton to a .191 clip. Rice never trailed in the game and the Owls staved off a late comeback attempt by the Bluejays with consecutive kills from Adekunle and Courtley.
Second Set
Both teams struggled offensively in a 25-22 Bluejays win. Schmidt recorded seven kills to lead the way for Creighton and the 'Jays won despite 5.0 team blocks by the Owls.
Third Set
Creighton repeated the score from set two with another 25-22 win despite nine kills by Adekunle. The Owls had pulled to within 23-22 but Creighton scored the final two points on kills.
Fourth Set
Rice bounced back to force a fifth set with a 25-21 victory, behind a stellar offensive performance in which they hit .375 as a team with 18 kills on 40 attacks. Maruska had seven kills in the game on 16 swings while Adekunle contributed five kills on six attacks. Graham assisted on all 18 kills while on the flipside Creighton hit just .171.
Fifth Set
Courtley led all players with four kills in the final frame, including the match-winning 16th point. After four ties and three lead changes, Rice score the game's final two points on a block and kill from Courtley to break a 14-14 tie. Graham totaled eight digs in the final frame alone while McCardell recorded seven digs.
The Owls will now gear up for C-USA play, which begins next weekend starting on Friday, Sept. 23 at home against UTSA at 6 p.m. Rice will then travel to Louisiana Tech on Sunday, Sept. 25 for a 1 p.m. first serve. Both matches will be streamed on CUSAtv.
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
CU
Rice
Kills
76
71
Errors
32
16
Attempts
225
218
Hitting %
.196
.252
Points
85
85
Assists
74
67
Aces
5
2
Blocks
4
12
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
23
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
L
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