NOTES - Volleyball Gears Up for Two-Match Road Trip at North Texas

UP NEXT
Rice (17-7, 11-3 AAC) to the road next week for a pair of matches at North Texas (15-12, 9-5 AAC) on Friday, Nov. 10, at 6 p.m. (CT), and Saturday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m. (CT). Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

THE NUMBERS TELL THE STORY
As a team, the Owls currently lead the nation in digs per set with 19.16. They are also sixth in the nation in attacks per set (38.12) and seventh in opponent hitting percentage (.146). Senior libero Nia McCardell leads the American and is 21st in the country in digs per set (5.00). Senior outside hitter Danyle Courtley is third in the AAC in kills per set (3.67) and fifth in points per set (3.97). During conference play, graduate senior right side hitter Emilia Weske ranks third in the conference in points per set (4.50) and fourth in kills per set (3.93).

CONFERENCE ACCOLADES
Sophomore setter Darby Harris was named to the AAC Honor Roll last week. It was Harris' first time in her career being honored by the AAC. Harris helped lead the Owls to a pair of 3-1 victories over Tulane last week. The native of Wheaton, Illinois, tallied 49 assists and 30 digs on the week. In Rice's first match against the Green Wave, Harris recorded her 13th double-double of the season with 34 assists and 21 digs, adding one ace and one solo block. In the second contest, Harris added 15 assists, nine digs and one block assist to help Rice extend its winning streak for four matches.

MAJOR MILESTONE
With her first dig in Rice's first matchup against Tulane, senior libero Nia McCardell recorded her 1,500th dig in her four-year career as an Owl. McCardell is only the fifth Owl ever to reach the 1,500-dig plateau and needs 22 more digs to pass Nicole Lennon for fourth on the all-time career digs list at Rice.

RECORD CHASERS
The Owls are chasing several team season records down the stretch. Rice's current total of 96 solo blocks ranks third all-time in program history. The Owls trail only the marks set by the 1985 (98 solo blocks) and 1989 (114 solo blocks) teams. Additionally, with 1,705 digs so far this season, the Owls are bearing down on the top-10 season totals for digs in program history. The 2017 team holds the 10th spot on the all-time list for the Owls with 2,052 digs, while the 2006 squad holds the all-time record with 2,353 digs.

HOT STREAK
Over Rice's current four-match winning streak, senior outside hitter Danyle Courtley is hitting .318 and averaging 4.00 kills per set. Courtley has reached double-figure kills in 19 of 24 matches this season, including in each of the past eight matches.

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 12 matches as Rice's leading killer. Graduate senior right side hitter Emilia Weske ranks second with six 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.

ICYMI
Rice extended its winning streak to four matches with a pair of 3-1 victories over Tulane last week. In game one against the Green Wave, the Owls hit .248 with 51 kills on 48 assists and recorded five service aces. Defensively, Rice posted 63 digs and six total blocks. Senior outside hitter Danyle Courtley led the Owls with 17 kills while hitting .317. Graduate senior right side hitter Emilia Weske posted 15 kills on .273 hitting along with 15 digs and a team-high two service aces. Sophomore setter Darby Harris posted another double-double with 34 assists and a team-best 21 digs. Senior libero Nia McCardell finished with 15 digs and graduate senior middle blocker Satasha Kostelecky led Rice with three total blocks.

The Owls again dispatched the Green Wave in game two, hitting .184 with 49 kills on 41 assists. Defensively, Rice posted 78 digs and 12 total blocks and held Tulane to .135 hitting with 45 kills. Weske led the team with 14 kills, recording a double-double with a team-high 19 digs. Courtley followed closed behind with 13 digs on a .190 hitting percentage. Freshman outside hitter Cindy Tchouangwa also reached double-figures with 10 kills, adding eight digs and three solo blocks. Senior setter Izzy Rawlings posted a team-high 21 assists and Harris added 15 assists off the bench. Junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Knobbe registered a team-high six blocks and McCardell added 15 digs.

CAREER MARKS
Several Owls recorded new career-best marks in Rice's pair of 3-1 wins over Tulane last week. Freshman outside hitter Cindy Tchouangwa posted new career-highs of 13.0 points, eight digs and three blocks in the Owls' second victory of the weekend. Graduate senior right side hitter Emilia Weske recorded a personal-best 20 digs in the same contest and freshman defensive specialist Campbell Love matched her career high with one assist. In Rice's opening victory of the weekend, junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Knobbe matched her career-highs of one assist and three digs.

HANDLING THE PEER PRESSURE
Dating back to 2014 the Owls are 116-24 (.829) in conference play, which includes a 61-5 (.924) record over the last five seasons. Rice has won 50 of their last 54 matches in conference play.

BLASTS FROM THE PAST
Rice and North Texas have met once previously in a conference tournament setting. The two sides faced off in the semifinals of the C-USA Tournament in 2018. The Owls emerged victorious, defeating the Mean Green, 3-1 (25-20, 24-26, 25-20, 25-21), en route to the tournament final that season, ultimately claiming the conference championship.

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.

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 top-25 ranked teams in Stanford, Texas and Baylor.

DOUBLE DOWN
Six Owls have recorded double-doubles in their career. Sophomore setter Darby Harris leads Rice this season with 15 double-doubles, comprising her career total. Harris has recorded a double-double in 12 of her past 15 matches. Senior outside hitter Sahara Maruska holds the lead in career double-doubles among current Owls, registering 19 in her career, including nine this season. Graduate senior right side hitter Emilia Weske has registered seven 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 her second career double-double earlier this season against SMU.

HOME SWEET HOME
Since 2018, the Owls have protected their home court, holding a 67-9 (.882) mark. In fact, since 2014, they are 111-21 (.835). Rice has been even better on their home court against conference opponents, having won 28 of its last 29 home conference matches dating back to the 2020-21 spring season. Since the 2015 season, Rice is 58-3 (.951) in conference home matches.

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

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.

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.

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