NOTES - Volleyball Primed for Showdowns with SMU

UP NEXT
Rice volleyball (13-5, 7-1 AAC) prepares for a pair of pivotal matches against SMU (14-6, 8-1 AAC) on Friday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. (CT), and Saturday, Oct. 21, at 3 p.m. (CT). The Owls currently trail the league-leading Mustangs by half a game in the AAC standings.

THE NUMBERS TELL THE STORY
As a team, the Owls currently lead the nation in digs per set with 19.19. They are also second in the nation in opponent hitting percentage at .137 and 19th in blocks per set at 2.67.

Senior libero Nia McCardell leads the American and is 10th in the country in digs per set (5.28). Senior outside hitter Danyle Courtley is fourth in the AAC in kills per set (3.53), attacks per set (9.45) and points per set (3.88). Junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Knobbe ranks third in the AAC with 1.15 blocks per set and graduate senior right side hitter Emilia Weske ranks fifth in the conference in points per set (3.83).

CONFERENCE ACCOLADES
Graduate student right side hitter Emilia Weske was named to the AAC Honor Roll last week. It was Weske's fourth time this season and third-consecutive week being named to the honor roll. Weske set new career-high marks in kills (27.5), attempts (70) and total points (32.5) against Florida Atlantic, adding two service aces and four total blocks (three solo blocks and one block assist). The product of Potsdam, Germany, hit. 257 for the match and also recorded her seventh career double-double with 18 digs.

HOT STREAK
Graduate student right side hitter Emilia Weske broke her career record for kills in back-to-back matches, registering 25 kills at Charlotte before following up the performance with 27 kills against FAU. Weske has recorded double-digit kills in six of her past seven matches, hitting a team-best .283 over that span.

SPREAD IT AROUND
Five different Owls have led the team in kills this season on at least one occasion. Senior outside hitter Danyle Courtley leads the team with nine matches as Rice's leading killer. Graduate senior right side hitter Emilia Weske ranks second with five times leading the team in kills, with senior outside hitter Sahara Maruska close behind with four matches leading the team. Junior right side hitter Lola Foord and freshman outside hitter Cindy Tchouangwa have each led the Owls in kills one time this season.

HANDLING THE PEER PRESSURE
Dating back to 2016 the Owls are 112-22 (.836) in conference play, which includes a 57-3 (.950) record over the last five seasons. Rice has won 45 of their last 47 matches in conference play.

DIG DEEP
Rice is the only team in the AAC with two players ranking in the top-10 in digs per set during AAC play. Senior defensive specialist Nia McCardell leads the conference with 5.30 digs per set during AAC play while sophomore setter Darby Harris ranks eighth in the league with 3.93 digs per set.

ICYMI
Rice suffered its first loss of AAC play, falling to Florida Atlantic, 3-2 (19-25, 16-25, 25-18, 25-23, 15-12), on Friday night at Tudor Fieldhouse. The Owls hit .141 on the match and totaled 61 kills while holding FAU to a .109 hitting percentage with 50 kills. Rice finished with 57 assists and 99 digs in the contest, also tying their season-high in total blocks with 15. Graduate senior right side hitter Emilia Weske led Rice with 27 kills, recording a double-double with 18 digs. Senior outside hitter Danyle Courtley was second on the team with 14 kills. Sophomore setter Darby Harris also registered a double-double with a career-high 56 assists and 16 digs. Senior defensive specialist Nia McCardell posted a team-high 30 digs and junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Knobbe led the team with six total blocks, including two solo blocks. Weske and graduate senior middle block Satasha Kostelekcy each also posted three solo blocks. Sophomore defensive specialist Gaby Mansfield finished with 17 digs.

CAREER MARKS
Several Owls recorded career-high marks last week against FAU. Graduate senior right side hitter Emilia Weske set new career-highs in kills (27), attempts (70), digs (18) and total points (32.5). Sophomore setter Darby Harris set new high marks in assists (56), kills (3), hitting percentage (.500), and total points (3.5). Sophomore defensive specialist Gaby Mansfield set a new career-high with 17 digs.

MEASURING UP
The Owls are 15-14 against Power 5 schools dating back to 2019 and have recorded five Top-25 victories during that stretch.

When the Owls defeated then-No. 22 USC on Aug. 26, it was their 10th win against a ranked opponent, with nine of them coming with Head Coach Genny Volpe at the helm. This season, Rice has also faced No. 5 Stanford, No. 6 Texas and No. 16 Baylor.

THEIR REPUTATION PRECEDES THEM
Graduate student Emilia Weske (right side) and seniors Danyle Courtley (outside hitter), Nia McCardell (libero) and Sahara Maruska (outside hitter) were all named to the American Preseason Team. The four members were the most of any school in the AAC and the most Owls on a preseason all-conference team since also placing four on the 2016 Preseason All-Conference USA team.

The Owls were picked to finish second in the West Division of the American Athletic Conference Preseason Poll behind SMU, receiving six first place votes.

DANCING FEVER
Rice has appeared in the NCAA Tournament in five consecutive seasons. Last season the Owls defeated Colorado in the opening round of the tournament to advance to the Round of 32 for the third time in the last four seasons.

The Owls are one of only three programs in the state of Texas to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in each of the last five seasons, joining Texas and Baylor. Additionally, Rice is one of just 18 programs across Division I to reach the NCAA Tournament in each of the last five seasons.

BEEN HERE BEFORE
Rice returned nine letterwinners and four starters from last season's NCAA Tournament team.

OWLS IN THE RICE INVITATIONAL
The Owls swept the Rice Invitational, defeating both Houston Christian and Atlantic Sun preseason favorite Florida Gulf Coast in straight sets. Rice has won 10 consecutive matches in the Invite dating back to 2021 and 23 of 24 dating back to 2017.

DOUBLE DOWN
Six Owls have recorded double-doubles in their career. Sophomore setter Darby Harris leads Rice this season with nine double-doubles, comprising her career total. Senior outside hitter Sahara Maruska holds the lead in career double-doubles among current Owls, registering 15 in her career, including five this season. Graduate senior right side hitter Emilia Weske has registered three double-doubles in her time at Rice in addition to four double-doubles while at USC. Senior setter Izzy Rawlings recorded her first two double-doubles in her career earlier this season (FGCU, Long Island) and senior defensive specialist Nia McCardell also recorded her first career double-double against Charlotte. Senior outside hitter Danyle Courtley notched the only double-double of her career in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year against No. 17 Baylor.

HOME SWEET HOME
Since 2018, the Owls have protected their home court, holding a 61-9 (.871) mark. In fact, since 2014, they are 105-21 (.833). Rice has been even better on their home court against conference opponents, having won 22 of its last 23 home conference matches dating back to the 2020-21 spring season. Since the 2015 season, Rice is 52-3 (.945) in conference home matches.

LEGEND AT THE HELM
Head Coach Genny Volpe is in her 20th season with the Owls and is the school's all-time leader in total wins (387) and winning percentage (.656).

FOREIGN TOUR
In June Rice completed an 11-day tour through Brazil, Rice's first foreign tour since visiting Italy in 2019. The Owls played five matches against national and professional teams while visiting Sao Paulo, Rio de Janiero, Saquarema and Arraial do Cabo.

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