Volleyball Set for Road Matches at Memphis, Charlotte

Match 16 | Rice Owls at Memphis Tigers | Friday, Oct. 6, 6 p.m.
Location: Memphis, Tennessee (Larry O. Finch Center)
Video Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats:Sidearm
Series: Rice leads, 5-4 | Last Meeting: Rice won, 3-0 (9/21/12)
Match 17 | Rice Owls vat Charlotte 49ers | Sunday, Oct. 8, Noon
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina (Halton Arena)
Video Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats:Sidearm
Series: Rice leads, 12-0 | Last Meeting: Rice won, 3-2 (10/16/22)

UP NEXT
Rice continues its 2023 this week with a pair of road matches. The Owls are set to take on Memphis (5-12, 1-4 AAC) on Friday, Oct. 6, at 6 p.m. (CT), before closing the week at Charlotte on Sunday, Oct. 8, at noon (CT).

TALLYING THE VOTES
Rice received votes in the latest AVCA/Taraflex Top 25 Poll, the Owls' seventh straight week receiving votes in the coaches poll. The Owls received 10 votes in the latest Top 25.

DIG DEEP
As a team, the Owls currently lead the nation in digs per set with 19.38. They are also sixth in opponent hitting percentage at .144 and 25th in blocks per set at 2.61.

Senior libero Nia McCardell leads the American and is 10th in the country in digs per set (5.31). Senior outside hitter Danyle Courtley is third in the AAC in both kills per set (3.82) and points per set (4.16).

ICYMI
Rice extended their win streak to seven games with back-to-back sweeps of UTSA last week. In the first game, the Owls were dominant in all three sets, winning, 25-12, 25-21, 25-18), and holding the Roadrunners to just .077 hitting. Senior outside hitter Danyle Courtley had a match-high 16 kills and hit .382. Graduate student right side hitter Emilia Weske hit a season-high .478 behind 12 kills while adding five digs and junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Knobbe hit .308 with seven kills. Senior outside hitter Sahara Maruska added seven kills and 13 digs. Sophomore setter Darby Harris recorded a double-double with 33 assists and 12 digs. Defensively, senior libero Nia McCardell led all players with 21 digs and added four assists.

Rice followed up the victory with a hard-fought rendition on Saturday, staving off UTSA in multiple sets to win, 25-12, 27-25, 25-23. The Owls hit .260 while holding UTSA to .124 hitting as they won their seventh straight match. Weske had a season-high 19 kills and a .300 hitting percentage while adding six digs and four blocks. Courtley had 10 kills and hit a match-high .320, while Maruska recorded her fourth double-double of the year with 10 kills and 15 digs. Harris recorded her fourth straight double-double and eighth of the year with 34 assists and 10 digs. Fifth-year senior middle blocker Satasha Kostelecky had a match-high five blocks.

HANDLING THE PEER PRESSURE
Dating back to 2016 the Owls are 110-21 (.840) in conference play, which includes a 55-2 (.965) record over the last five seasons. Rice has won six consecutive regular season conference matches and 43 of their last 44.

CONFERENCE ACCOLADES
For the second straight week and third time this season, senior libero Nia McCardell was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Week. Graduate student right side hitter Emilia Weske was also named to the Honor Roll, the league office announced Monday afternoon. McCardell recorded 21 digs in a 3-0 win over UTSA, her fourth match this season with 20+ digs, also adding four assists. The following day, the Missouri City, Texas native posted nine digs and four assists. For the week, she notched 30 digs and eight assists.

Weske averaged a team-best 5.17 kills per set, 5.83 points per set and a .364 hitting percentage while also adding 1.83 digs per set and 1.17 blocks per set. She began the week hitting a season-high .478 on 12 kills and 13.5 points in a sweep of UTSA. She also added five digs and three blocks. The next day, she set a season-high with 19 kills, one off her career-best, and 21.5 points in a second sweep of the Roadrunners. The Potsdam, Germany native hit .300 while adding six digs and four blocks. For the week, she notched a team-high 31 kills and 35.0 points with 11 digs and seven blocks.

ROLL CALL
So far this year, five separate Owls have been named to the American Athletic Conference's weekly Honor Roll. Graduate student Emilia Wesk, junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Knobbe, fifth-year senior middle blocker Satasha Kostelecky, senior outside hitter Danyle Courtley and senior outside hitter Sahara Maruska have all earned the honor this season. This past week, Maruska became the first Owl this season to twice earn a spot on the weekly honor roll.

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.

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 (385) and winning percentage (.655).

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
Five Owls have recorded double-doubles in their career. Setter Darby Harris has recorded eight double-doubles in her career, all coming this year. Outside hitter Sahara Maruska has 14 double-doubles in her career, including four this season. Right side hitter Emilia Weske has two double-doubles this year and six in her career, having also recorded four at USC. Setter Izzy Rawlings has posted the first two double-doubles of her career this year. Outside hitter Danyle Courtley has one, notching her only double-double 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 61-8 (.884) mark. In fact, since 2014, they are 105-20 (.840). Rice has been even better on their home court against conference opponents, having won its last 22 matches dating back to the 2020-21 spring season. Since the 2015 season, Rice is 52-2 (.963) in conference home matches.

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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