Friday, October 4
Tulsa, Okla.
6 PM
Rice University
8-4,3-0AAC
3
at
1
Tulsa
10-5,2-1AAC
1
2
3
4
F
Rice
25
21
25
25
3
Tulsa
22
25
22
18
1
Hill, Ogunlana Shine as Rice Remains Unbeaten in AAC
10/4/2024 8:34:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Rice hands Tulsa its first conference loss of the season
TULSA, Okla. - The Rice Owls volleyball team (8-4, 3-0 AAC) continued its winning ways in conference play by notching a 3-1 victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (10-5, 2-1 AAC) on Friday night at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
"I'm super proud of the team for pulling out the road win," head coach Genny Volpe said. "Tulsa is a very good team that never quits. It was a huge momentum type match with both teams stealing it from one another. Sam [Samarah] Hill was just really good tonight. Her whole game was so solid and the team really rallied around her. Nia, Gaby, and Darby just owned the back court which was great to see."
Samarah Hill and Lademi Ogunlana led the charge offensively, accounting for 17 kills each. Hill also notched her second double-double of the season with 24 digs, a new career-high. Other Owls with 10 or more digs included Cindy Tchouangwa (12) and Kaitlyn Knobbe (10).
Savannah Skopal ended the night with 31 assists, posting a majority of Rice's 59 total assists. Kaia Mateo had a strong showing with 24 assists and three digs, while Gaby Mansfield gathered the other four assists on the night.
Along with Hill's team-high 24 digs, both Darby Harris and Mansfield had 19 digs each, while Nia McCardell tallied nine. Skopal tallied seven, Mateo and Tchouangwa had three, Ogunlana had two, and Lola Foord, Katrina Jensen, and Knobbe each had one.
Ogunlana also led the Owls in blocks with six on the night, accounting for over half of Rice's 11 blocks. Both Jensen and Knobbe had three, while Hill, Matep, Skopal, and Tchouangwa had one each.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE (RICE 25-22)
Neither side could get away from the other to start the set, with the largest lead either side built up being two points. It wasn't until a 4-0 run from Rice after Tulsa cut the lead to 10-9 that the Owls found some separation, taking a 15-10 lead before the media timeout was called. Rice held onto the extended led at 17-12 and 18-14, but a late 5-0 run from Tulsa would give the Golden Hurricane a 19-18 lead. The two sides traded points until a 4-0 run by the Owls forced back-to-back timeouts by Tulsa, down 24-21. While Tulsa got one point at the end, a final kill by Tchouangwa gave the Owls a 1-0 advantage in the match.
SET TWO (TULSA 25-21)
Tulsa came out hot and took a 6-1 lead to force Rice to burn a timeout early in the set. While the Owls continued to chip away at the lead, Tulsa would prevent Rice from tying the match until the Owls made it a tied contest at 12-12. A service ace from Mansfield would briefly give Rice the lead, but a 4-1 run by Tulsa promptly took the lead back at 16-14. Rice tied the set multiple times at 17-17, 18-18, and 20-20, but a 5-1 run by Tulsa claimed the set for the Golden Hurricane.
SET THREE (RICE 25-22)
The third set mirrored the first one, where neither side could pull too far away out of the gate. Rice had to take the first timeout of the period after falling behind 9-5, but the Owls continued to fight, cutting the lead down to one at 13-12. However, another 4-1 run by Tulsa forced Rice to call a timeout. From that point, Rice outscored Tulsa at 12-5, going on three separate 3-0 runs, finishing up the set on a 9-2 run to claim the third set and a 2-1 lead going into the fourth set.
SET FOUR (RICE 25-18)
It was Rice's turn for a fast start, taking a 5-1 lead to force Tulsa to call an early timeout. However, Rice continued to pour it on, taking a 10-3 lead to force Tulsa's hand and burn its second and final timeout of the set. Rice built up a 13-3 lead (22-5 since it was 17-14 in favor of Tulsa in the third set) before the Golden Hurricane responded, going on a long run of its own at 10-1 to tie the match at 14-14, forcing Rice to call its second timeout. Like the third set, Rice owned the back-half of the set, going on an 11-4 run, including a 5-0 run and a 4-0 run to close the set, to take the victory on the road and remain unbeaten in league play.
UP NEXT
Rice continues conference play on Sunday afternoon, taking on the Wichita State Shockers in Wichita, Kansas. The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
"I'm super proud of the team for pulling out the road win," head coach Genny Volpe said. "Tulsa is a very good team that never quits. It was a huge momentum type match with both teams stealing it from one another. Sam [Samarah] Hill was just really good tonight. Her whole game was so solid and the team really rallied around her. Nia, Gaby, and Darby just owned the back court which was great to see."
Samarah Hill and Lademi Ogunlana led the charge offensively, accounting for 17 kills each. Hill also notched her second double-double of the season with 24 digs, a new career-high. Other Owls with 10 or more digs included Cindy Tchouangwa (12) and Kaitlyn Knobbe (10).
Savannah Skopal ended the night with 31 assists, posting a majority of Rice's 59 total assists. Kaia Mateo had a strong showing with 24 assists and three digs, while Gaby Mansfield gathered the other four assists on the night.
Along with Hill's team-high 24 digs, both Darby Harris and Mansfield had 19 digs each, while Nia McCardell tallied nine. Skopal tallied seven, Mateo and Tchouangwa had three, Ogunlana had two, and Lola Foord, Katrina Jensen, and Knobbe each had one.
Ogunlana also led the Owls in blocks with six on the night, accounting for over half of Rice's 11 blocks. Both Jensen and Knobbe had three, while Hill, Matep, Skopal, and Tchouangwa had one each.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE (RICE 25-22)
Neither side could get away from the other to start the set, with the largest lead either side built up being two points. It wasn't until a 4-0 run from Rice after Tulsa cut the lead to 10-9 that the Owls found some separation, taking a 15-10 lead before the media timeout was called. Rice held onto the extended led at 17-12 and 18-14, but a late 5-0 run from Tulsa would give the Golden Hurricane a 19-18 lead. The two sides traded points until a 4-0 run by the Owls forced back-to-back timeouts by Tulsa, down 24-21. While Tulsa got one point at the end, a final kill by Tchouangwa gave the Owls a 1-0 advantage in the match.
SET TWO (TULSA 25-21)
Tulsa came out hot and took a 6-1 lead to force Rice to burn a timeout early in the set. While the Owls continued to chip away at the lead, Tulsa would prevent Rice from tying the match until the Owls made it a tied contest at 12-12. A service ace from Mansfield would briefly give Rice the lead, but a 4-1 run by Tulsa promptly took the lead back at 16-14. Rice tied the set multiple times at 17-17, 18-18, and 20-20, but a 5-1 run by Tulsa claimed the set for the Golden Hurricane.
SET THREE (RICE 25-22)
The third set mirrored the first one, where neither side could pull too far away out of the gate. Rice had to take the first timeout of the period after falling behind 9-5, but the Owls continued to fight, cutting the lead down to one at 13-12. However, another 4-1 run by Tulsa forced Rice to call a timeout. From that point, Rice outscored Tulsa at 12-5, going on three separate 3-0 runs, finishing up the set on a 9-2 run to claim the third set and a 2-1 lead going into the fourth set.
SET FOUR (RICE 25-18)
It was Rice's turn for a fast start, taking a 5-1 lead to force Tulsa to call an early timeout. However, Rice continued to pour it on, taking a 10-3 lead to force Tulsa's hand and burn its second and final timeout of the set. Rice built up a 13-3 lead (22-5 since it was 17-14 in favor of Tulsa in the third set) before the Golden Hurricane responded, going on a long run of its own at 10-1 to tie the match at 14-14, forcing Rice to call its second timeout. Like the third set, Rice owned the back-half of the set, going on an 11-4 run, including a 5-0 run and a 4-0 run to close the set, to take the victory on the road and remain unbeaten in league play.
UP NEXT
Rice continues conference play on Sunday afternoon, taking on the Wichita State Shockers in Wichita, Kansas. The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Rice
Tulsa
Kills
63
52
Errors
21
21
Attempts
191
179
Hitting %
.220
.173
Points
78.0
67.0
Assists
59
51
Aces
4
3
Blocks
11
12
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
17
Aces
1
Blocks
6
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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