Friday, November 15
Houston, Texas
6 PM
Rice University
18-6,13-2AAC
3
vs
0
Memphis
12-15,6-9AAC
1
2
3
F
Memphis
21
17
19
0
Rice
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Juan DeLeon
Rice Earns Senior Night Victory over Memphis
11/15/2024 7:57:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
HOUSTON - Rice (18-6, 13-2 AAC) closed out the home slate of the regular season with a straight-set victory over the Memphis Tigers (12-15, 6-9 AAC) on Friday night. With the victory, Rice finishes the season undefeated in home conference matches for the fourth time in the previous five seasons.
The victory also brings Rice closer to an AAC Regular Season Championship. Currently, the Owls are tied at the top of the standings with USF, as both have 13-2 records. With victories on Sunday, both would be Co-Champions of the AAC, but the Bulls would take the top seed in next week's conference tournament in Wichita, Kansas, while the Owls would lock up the two seed. Rice cannot be any lower than the second seed in next week's tournament.
"I'm just really proud of this group of seniors," head coach Genny Volpe said. "They are leaving such a strong legacy of competitive grit, team first mentality, and pure love of the game. Excited to earn the sweep tonight and we are looking forward to competing for a championship against a very talented North Texas team on Sunday."
The Owls honored seniors Lola Foord, Samarah Hill, Katrina Jensen, Kaitlyn Knobbe, and Nia McCardell before first serve.
Samarah Hill led the Owls offensively with 11 kills, followed by Kaitlyn Knobbe with 10 kills. Lola Foord and Lademi Ogunlana both posted hitting percentages of .500, with Foord posting nine kills and Ogunlana posting eight.
Savannah Skopal accounted for the lion's share of assists on the night, posting 41 of Rice's 45 assists to improve her season count to 819. Nia McCardell posted two assists, while Darby Harris and Campbell Love posted one each.
McCardell accounted for 14 of Rice's 45 digs, with six other Owls accounting for multiple digs. Harris tallied nine, Hill posted seven, both Love and Ogunlana had five, followed by Skopal and Foord posting three and two, respectively.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE (RICE 25-21)
It looked to be all Owls early on in the set, taking as much as a six-point lead at 9-3, but Memphis fought back and continued to close the game before tying the match at 13-13. The two teams traded the lead a few times, first with Memphis taking the lead at 14-13, then Rice taking it back at 15-14, then the Tigers taking it again at 16-15. Memphis was able to build up a multi-point lead at 18-16, but a 4-0 run by Rice reversed the advantage to the Owls' side. Memphis would cut the lead to one at 20-19, but Rice would outscore the Tigers 5-2 in the waning minutes of the set to take the first set 25-21.
SET TWO (RICE 25-17)
Rice raced out to a 5-0 lead to force an early timeout by Memphis, and never had less than a two-point lead for the rest of the way. After cutting the lead to 7-5, 8-6, and 10-8, Rice began to inflate its lead. Once Rice took a 16-10 lead, Memphis had to burn its final timeout of the set, but Rice continued to hold the six-point lead at 18-12 and 20-14 before stretching the lead to seven at 23-16 and 24-17. One final Hill kill in the set closed it out at 25-17 in favor of Rice.
SET THREE (RICE 25-19)
After a set with zero ties or lead changes, there was only one tie in this set, coming late in the action. Rice again came out scoring to take a multi-point lead, forcing Memphis' first timeout at 11-6. Rice continued to score but could not quite pull away, as a 3-0 run at 17-14 saw the Tigers tie the set at 17-17. Rice took the momentum back, going on a 5-0 run to take a 22-17 lead and find victory in its grasp. Memphis would score to cut the lead to four, but two points stretched the lead back to six. The teams traded the final two points, and Rice ultimately came out on top 25-19 to clinch the set and the match.
UP NEXT
The regular season ends with a battle of Lone Star State foes, as Rice takes on North Texas in Denton on Sunday afternoon. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
SCENARIOS
USF win + Rice win = Co-Champions, USF is No. 1 seed, Rice is No. 2 seed
Rice win + USF loss = AAC Reg. Season Champs, Rice is No. 1 seed, USF is No. 2 seed
USF win + Rice loss = USF AAC Reg. Season Champs, USF is No. 1 seed, Rice is No. 2 seed
USF loss + Rice loss = Co-Champions, USF is No. 1 seed, Rice is No. 2 seed
The victory also brings Rice closer to an AAC Regular Season Championship. Currently, the Owls are tied at the top of the standings with USF, as both have 13-2 records. With victories on Sunday, both would be Co-Champions of the AAC, but the Bulls would take the top seed in next week's conference tournament in Wichita, Kansas, while the Owls would lock up the two seed. Rice cannot be any lower than the second seed in next week's tournament.
"I'm just really proud of this group of seniors," head coach Genny Volpe said. "They are leaving such a strong legacy of competitive grit, team first mentality, and pure love of the game. Excited to earn the sweep tonight and we are looking forward to competing for a championship against a very talented North Texas team on Sunday."
The Owls honored seniors Lola Foord, Samarah Hill, Katrina Jensen, Kaitlyn Knobbe, and Nia McCardell before first serve.
Samarah Hill led the Owls offensively with 11 kills, followed by Kaitlyn Knobbe with 10 kills. Lola Foord and Lademi Ogunlana both posted hitting percentages of .500, with Foord posting nine kills and Ogunlana posting eight.
Savannah Skopal accounted for the lion's share of assists on the night, posting 41 of Rice's 45 assists to improve her season count to 819. Nia McCardell posted two assists, while Darby Harris and Campbell Love posted one each.
McCardell accounted for 14 of Rice's 45 digs, with six other Owls accounting for multiple digs. Harris tallied nine, Hill posted seven, both Love and Ogunlana had five, followed by Skopal and Foord posting three and two, respectively.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE (RICE 25-21)
It looked to be all Owls early on in the set, taking as much as a six-point lead at 9-3, but Memphis fought back and continued to close the game before tying the match at 13-13. The two teams traded the lead a few times, first with Memphis taking the lead at 14-13, then Rice taking it back at 15-14, then the Tigers taking it again at 16-15. Memphis was able to build up a multi-point lead at 18-16, but a 4-0 run by Rice reversed the advantage to the Owls' side. Memphis would cut the lead to one at 20-19, but Rice would outscore the Tigers 5-2 in the waning minutes of the set to take the first set 25-21.
SET TWO (RICE 25-17)
Rice raced out to a 5-0 lead to force an early timeout by Memphis, and never had less than a two-point lead for the rest of the way. After cutting the lead to 7-5, 8-6, and 10-8, Rice began to inflate its lead. Once Rice took a 16-10 lead, Memphis had to burn its final timeout of the set, but Rice continued to hold the six-point lead at 18-12 and 20-14 before stretching the lead to seven at 23-16 and 24-17. One final Hill kill in the set closed it out at 25-17 in favor of Rice.
SET THREE (RICE 25-19)
After a set with zero ties or lead changes, there was only one tie in this set, coming late in the action. Rice again came out scoring to take a multi-point lead, forcing Memphis' first timeout at 11-6. Rice continued to score but could not quite pull away, as a 3-0 run at 17-14 saw the Tigers tie the set at 17-17. Rice took the momentum back, going on a 5-0 run to take a 22-17 lead and find victory in its grasp. Memphis would score to cut the lead to four, but two points stretched the lead back to six. The teams traded the final two points, and Rice ultimately came out on top 25-19 to clinch the set and the match.
UP NEXT
The regular season ends with a battle of Lone Star State foes, as Rice takes on North Texas in Denton on Sunday afternoon. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
SCENARIOS
USF win + Rice win = Co-Champions, USF is No. 1 seed, Rice is No. 2 seed
Rice win + USF loss = AAC Reg. Season Champs, Rice is No. 1 seed, USF is No. 2 seed
USF win + Rice loss = USF AAC Reg. Season Champs, USF is No. 1 seed, Rice is No. 2 seed
USF loss + Rice loss = Co-Champions, USF is No. 1 seed, Rice is No. 2 seed
Team Stats
Mem
Rice
Kills
30
48
Errors
10
15
Attempts
88
105
Hitting %
.227
.314
Points
36.0
54.0
Assists
29
45
Aces
2
4
Blocks
4
2
Game Leaders
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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