Sunday, September 24
Tulsa, OK
1 p.m.
Rice University
9-4,3-0AAC
3
at
0
Tulsa
8-6,1-2AAC
1
2
3
F
Rice
30
25
25
3
Tulsa
28
20
21
0
Maruska Powers Rice to Sweep of Tulsa
9/24/2023 4:16:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
TULSA – Rice volleyball picked up its fifth-straight win with a sweep of Tulsa (30-28, 25-20, 25-21) behind Sahara Maruska's season-high 17 kills Sunday afternoon in Tulsa. With the win, Rice moves to 9-4 (3-0 AAC).
Rice finished with a .246 hitting percentage while holding Tulsa to a .171 attack percentage. The Owls had three reach double-digit kills with Danyle Courtley racking up 15 kills and Emilia Weske finishing with 13 kills.
Nia McCardell recorded 18 digs, five assists and an ace while Darby Harris had 38 assists, 16 digs and a kill. Stephanie Gutierrez had two kills with two block assists.
Rice had more kills (49-45), assists (49-43) and digs (68-63), while Rice and Tulsa were even in blocks (7-7) and aces (2-2).
Postgame Reaction - Head Coach Genny Volpe
"Really proud of our team for staying focused and getting the job done today. Our pin attackers really did a nice job of scoring and being efficient and our back-court defense was really clean today."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set One
Weske and Maruska put the pressure on early, with back-to-back kills handing Rice a 5-3 lead to open the match. After trading points and runs, Tulsa jumped out to a five-point lead at 18-13 before three-straight kills by Maruska brought Rice within three. After Tulsa stopped the run with a Rice error, Maruska and Weske combined for another three points to tie the set at 19-19. The two sides traded points until Tulsa had set point at 24-23, forcing a Rice timeout. Back-to-back Golden Hurricane errors gave the Owls set point at 25-24, but Tulsa rallied back. After trading points, Tulsa had another chance at 28-27, but Maruska tied things back up at 28-28. After a Golden Hurricane error gave another set point for Rice, Maruska capped off the set with her ninth kill of the set to hand the Owls a thrilling 30-28 set win.
Set Two
After Tulsa took a 5-3 lead to open the second set, a Golden Hurricane error ignited a 7-0 run for Rice to put the Owls up 10-5. The Golden Hurricane looked to get back in the set with back-to-back points, but Maruska sparked another run for Rice to put the Owls up 15-7. With Rice up 19-13, Courtley's kills followed by a Gutierrez block extended the Rice lead to eight. After a 5-0 Tulsa run cut the deficit to three, Gutierrez's kill sparked another run for Rice, giving the Owls set point at 24-18. Three plays later, a Tulsa error gave the Owls the set at 25-20.
Set Three
The Golden Hurricane opened the third set with a 3-1 advantage, but a 4-0 Owl run gave the lead back to Rice. After trading points, Courtley's kill gave Rice a 11-8 lead. Tulsa cut the deficit to two on the following play with Courtley sparking a 5-1 Rice run to take a 16-10 lead. Tulsa battled back to get within one at 18-17, but Lola Foord extended the cushion back to two. After an error made it 19-18, Maruska and Courtley combined for a 3-0 run to take a 22-18 lead. The two sides traded points the rest of the way, with Weske and Courtley grabbing the last points for Rice.
UP NEXT
The Owls will be back at home next Friday when the team welcomes UTSA to Tudor Fieldhouse. That match will be at 6:00 p.m.
Rice finished with a .246 hitting percentage while holding Tulsa to a .171 attack percentage. The Owls had three reach double-digit kills with Danyle Courtley racking up 15 kills and Emilia Weske finishing with 13 kills.
Nia McCardell recorded 18 digs, five assists and an ace while Darby Harris had 38 assists, 16 digs and a kill. Stephanie Gutierrez had two kills with two block assists.
Rice had more kills (49-45), assists (49-43) and digs (68-63), while Rice and Tulsa were even in blocks (7-7) and aces (2-2).
"Really proud of our team for staying focused and getting the job done today. Our pin attackers really did a nice job of scoring and being efficient and our back-court defense was really clean today."
Set One
Weske and Maruska put the pressure on early, with back-to-back kills handing Rice a 5-3 lead to open the match. After trading points and runs, Tulsa jumped out to a five-point lead at 18-13 before three-straight kills by Maruska brought Rice within three. After Tulsa stopped the run with a Rice error, Maruska and Weske combined for another three points to tie the set at 19-19. The two sides traded points until Tulsa had set point at 24-23, forcing a Rice timeout. Back-to-back Golden Hurricane errors gave the Owls set point at 25-24, but Tulsa rallied back. After trading points, Tulsa had another chance at 28-27, but Maruska tied things back up at 28-28. After a Golden Hurricane error gave another set point for Rice, Maruska capped off the set with her ninth kill of the set to hand the Owls a thrilling 30-28 set win.
Set Two
After Tulsa took a 5-3 lead to open the second set, a Golden Hurricane error ignited a 7-0 run for Rice to put the Owls up 10-5. The Golden Hurricane looked to get back in the set with back-to-back points, but Maruska sparked another run for Rice to put the Owls up 15-7. With Rice up 19-13, Courtley's kills followed by a Gutierrez block extended the Rice lead to eight. After a 5-0 Tulsa run cut the deficit to three, Gutierrez's kill sparked another run for Rice, giving the Owls set point at 24-18. Three plays later, a Tulsa error gave the Owls the set at 25-20.
Set Three
The Golden Hurricane opened the third set with a 3-1 advantage, but a 4-0 Owl run gave the lead back to Rice. After trading points, Courtley's kill gave Rice a 11-8 lead. Tulsa cut the deficit to two on the following play with Courtley sparking a 5-1 Rice run to take a 16-10 lead. Tulsa battled back to get within one at 18-17, but Lola Foord extended the cushion back to two. After an error made it 19-18, Maruska and Courtley combined for a 3-0 run to take a 22-18 lead. The two sides traded points the rest of the way, with Weske and Courtley grabbing the last points for Rice.
The Owls will be back at home next Friday when the team welcomes UTSA to Tudor Fieldhouse. That match will be at 6:00 p.m.
Team Stats
Rice
Tulsa
Kills
49
45
Errors
15
20
Attempts
138
146
Hitting %
.246
.171
Points
60.0
54.0
Assists
49
43
Aces
2
2
Blocks
9
7
Game Leaders
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
2
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
RS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's VolleyballRS
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