Saturday, September 3
Eugene, OR
8:00 P.M. CT
Rice University
-41,00 CUSA
2
at
3
No. 18 Oregon
4-0,0-0Pac-12
1
2
3
4
5
F
Rice
25
21
20
25
11
2
Oregon
21
25
25
17
15
3
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Owls Comeback Bid Falls Short at No. 18 Oregon
9/3/2022 11:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Adekunle records 1,000th career kill
EUGENE, OR – A valiant effort on the road against the No. 18 ranked Oregon Ducks came up just a few points short as the Rice Owls volleyball team fell (25-21, 21-25, 20-25, 25-17, 11-15) in five hard-fought sets Saturday evening on the final day of the Oregon Invitational.
The Owls (4-1) saw their four-match winning streak come to an end despite outhitting Oregon (4-0) by a margin of .226-.208, a season-low performance by the Ducks. Rice collected 101 digs as a team, the fourth-most by an NCAA Division I team this season.
Junior outside hitter Danyle Courtley led all players with a career-high 22 kills on 58 attacks for the Owls while Sahara Maruska (12 kills) and Anota Adekunle (11 kills) also contributed double-digit kills. Adekunle's 11th kill was the 1,000th of her career, becoming the 16th player in program history to accomplish the feat.
Fifth year setter Carly Graham accomplished her second double-double of the season with a match-high 53 assists and 14 digs while Maruska also notched a double-double by adding 14 digs to her 12 kills.
Junior libero Nia McCardell, the reigning C-USA Defensive Player of the Week, continued her stellar season by amassing a season-high 32 digs, the second-most of her career. Freshmen Gaby Mansfield (17 digs) and Darby Harris (12 digs) also established season-high in digs.
Postgame Reaction - Head Coach Genny Volpe
"I'm just really proud of this team. We had some great moments, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Oregon is loaded with talent and I believe today we proved that we can compete with the best. We are still working things out like many other teams at this point in the season so it's exciting to see our potential. We talked about holding ourselves to this match performance standard in practice and I'm looking forward to getting back in the gym with this group."
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
The Owls used a 10-2 run to erase a 19-15 deficit to win 25-21. During that stretch, five different Owls recorded kills and Oregon committed four attack errors. Adekunle (5 kills) and Courtley (4 kills) led the way offensively for the Owls while Mansfield picked up seven digs. Oregon hit just .077 in the frame and had 10 attack errors.
Second Set
Oregon bounced back with a 25-21 match-tying victory despite seven kills from Maruska. The Ducks received six kills from Brooke Nuneviller, who finished with a team-best 20 kills on the night. Three different Owls collected five digs apiece while Graham distributed 12 assists.
Third Set
In almost a carbon copy of set two, Oregon controlled much of the third frame in a 25-20 victory. Courtley paced the Rice offense with seven kills but the Ducks held an 80 percent sideout rate to take a 2-1 match lead.
Fourth Set
Rice had their best offensive performance by hitting .324 in a convincing 25-17 victory. The Owls totaled 16 kills on 37 attacks, seven of which came from the right hand of Courtley. Graham distributed 14 assists while defensively the Owls held Oregon to a .106 hitting clip.
Fifth Set
After seven ties and two lead changes, Oregon closed out the game with a 6-2 run to win 15-11. Ellie Bichelmeyer gave the Owls a lift with four kills on seven attacks but the Ducks had a balanced effort with six different players recording kills.
UP NEXT
The Owls make their long-awaited home debut this Tuesday, Sept. 6 when they host the McNeese Cowgirls (1-5) at 6 p.m. from Tudor Fieldhouse.
The Owls (4-1) saw their four-match winning streak come to an end despite outhitting Oregon (4-0) by a margin of .226-.208, a season-low performance by the Ducks. Rice collected 101 digs as a team, the fourth-most by an NCAA Division I team this season.
Junior outside hitter Danyle Courtley led all players with a career-high 22 kills on 58 attacks for the Owls while Sahara Maruska (12 kills) and Anota Adekunle (11 kills) also contributed double-digit kills. Adekunle's 11th kill was the 1,000th of her career, becoming the 16th player in program history to accomplish the feat.
Fifth year setter Carly Graham accomplished her second double-double of the season with a match-high 53 assists and 14 digs while Maruska also notched a double-double by adding 14 digs to her 12 kills.
Junior libero Nia McCardell, the reigning C-USA Defensive Player of the Week, continued her stellar season by amassing a season-high 32 digs, the second-most of her career. Freshmen Gaby Mansfield (17 digs) and Darby Harris (12 digs) also established season-high in digs.
"I'm just really proud of this team. We had some great moments, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Oregon is loaded with talent and I believe today we proved that we can compete with the best. We are still working things out like many other teams at this point in the season so it's exciting to see our potential. We talked about holding ourselves to this match performance standard in practice and I'm looking forward to getting back in the gym with this group."
First Set
The Owls used a 10-2 run to erase a 19-15 deficit to win 25-21. During that stretch, five different Owls recorded kills and Oregon committed four attack errors. Adekunle (5 kills) and Courtley (4 kills) led the way offensively for the Owls while Mansfield picked up seven digs. Oregon hit just .077 in the frame and had 10 attack errors.
Second Set
Oregon bounced back with a 25-21 match-tying victory despite seven kills from Maruska. The Ducks received six kills from Brooke Nuneviller, who finished with a team-best 20 kills on the night. Three different Owls collected five digs apiece while Graham distributed 12 assists.
Third Set
In almost a carbon copy of set two, Oregon controlled much of the third frame in a 25-20 victory. Courtley paced the Rice offense with seven kills but the Ducks held an 80 percent sideout rate to take a 2-1 match lead.
Fourth Set
Rice had their best offensive performance by hitting .324 in a convincing 25-17 victory. The Owls totaled 16 kills on 37 attacks, seven of which came from the right hand of Courtley. Graham distributed 14 assists while defensively the Owls held Oregon to a .106 hitting clip.
Fifth Set
After seven ties and two lead changes, Oregon closed out the game with a 6-2 run to win 15-11. Ellie Bichelmeyer gave the Owls a lift with four kills on seven attacks but the Ducks had a balanced effort with six different players recording kills.
The Owls make their long-awaited home debut this Tuesday, Sept. 6 when they host the McNeese Cowgirls (1-5) at 6 p.m. from Tudor Fieldhouse.
-RiceOwls.com-
Team Stats
Rice
Oregon
Kills
62
70
Errors
20
27
Attempts
186
207
Hitting %
.226
.208
Points
70
78
Assists
61
67
Aces
2
2
Blocks
6
6
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
22
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's VolleyballRice vs. Central Arkansas Highlights
Sunday, August 31
Volleyball Exhibition vs. Houston Post-Match Press Conference
Sunday, August 24
VB Thea Carter Kick Save vs. Wichita State
Monday, August 18
2024 Night of the Owl End of Year Recap
Thursday, April 25