Friday, September 20
Fort Worth, Texas
2:30 PM
Rice University
5-3,0-0AAC
3
vs
1
UT Arlington
9-2,0-0WAC
1
2
3
4
F
UT Arlington
24
19
25
21
1
Rice
26
25
22
25
3
Rice Returns to Win Column with 3-1 Victory Over UTA
9/20/2024 5:03:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
FORT WORTH, Texas – The Rice Owls and the UT Arlington Mavericks met for the first time since 1988 at Schollmaier Arena, where the Owls came out victorious, 3-1, on Friday afternoon.
"Today I feel like our team found our groove again," head coach Genny Volpe discussed about the team's performance. "We learned a lot from last weekend and I'm proud of how the team came out very focused. Kat [Katrina] Jensen had a great match providing us with a huge offensive spark and I also thought Sam and Cindy had solid performances all around.
Katrina Jensen and Cindy Tchouangwa both had 15 kills to finish the day, with Jensen hitting a team-high .393 with a minimum of five attempts. Tchouangwa was close to a double-double with nine digs in the match, but did also have two assists and a service ace. Samarah Hill finishd as the third Owl with duble-digit kills at 14.
Savannah Skopal added 45 assists to her total to the year, and also registered 14 digs. With both of those figures, Skopal had the second double-double of her career, with her first coming in her first collegiate match against HCU back on August 30.
Rice tallied a total of 13 blocks on the day, including a team-high six blocks from Lademi Ogunlana. Hill, Jensen, and Kaitlyn Knobbe all had four blocks, Thea Carter had three, and Tchouangwa had two. Hill's four blocks were a new career high for the outside hitter.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE (RICE 26-24)
The Mavericks set the tempo for the set early, quickly jumping out to a 7-4 lead and forcing the Owls to call an early timeout. UTA led by as much as 12-7, but a 4-0 run by Rice cut the lead to one and forced a UTA timeout to be called. Rice tied the set multiple times, but a 3-0 run late in the match put the Mavericks up 20-17. Rice had a 3-0 run of its own to tie the set, and a back-and-forth battle started from there, neither team pulling away. In the end, a 3-0 run by the Owls, punctuated with a kill from Tchouangwa, sealed the set for Rice.
SET TWO (RICE 25-19)
The Owls never trailed after regaining the lead at 4-3, and the offense kept UTA at bay with a .533 kill percentage. The Owls bolstered the lead up to as much as 19-13, winning the set by the same six-point margin. Rice also tallied two blocks in the set to tally six total blocks through two sets.
SET THREE (UTA 25-22)
The Mavericks used an early 4-0 run to take a 9-6 lead and take control of the set early, but the Owls did not back down and fought to tie the match up at 15-15. A late 5-0 run by UTA was too much to overcome, despite a small run by Rice to cut the lead to 24-22. A final kill by UTA clinched the third set for the Mavericks, heading to the fourth set with Rice holding. 2-1 advantage.
SET FOUR (RICE 25-21)
While UTA looked to take an early lead at 7-3, the Owls swung back with a 5-0 run of its own to take a one-point lead and force a UTA timeout. After an 8-8 tie, the Owls never gave up the lead, building a large lead late at 21-15. Despite a three-point run by the Mavericks to cut the deficit at 21-18, Rice would get its final four points thanks to three kills from Hill and one from Skopal to clinch the match at 3-1.
UP NEXT
Rice takes on host and 23rd-ranked TCU to round out non-conference play for the 2024 season.
"Today I feel like our team found our groove again," head coach Genny Volpe discussed about the team's performance. "We learned a lot from last weekend and I'm proud of how the team came out very focused. Kat [Katrina] Jensen had a great match providing us with a huge offensive spark and I also thought Sam and Cindy had solid performances all around.
Katrina Jensen and Cindy Tchouangwa both had 15 kills to finish the day, with Jensen hitting a team-high .393 with a minimum of five attempts. Tchouangwa was close to a double-double with nine digs in the match, but did also have two assists and a service ace. Samarah Hill finishd as the third Owl with duble-digit kills at 14.
Savannah Skopal added 45 assists to her total to the year, and also registered 14 digs. With both of those figures, Skopal had the second double-double of her career, with her first coming in her first collegiate match against HCU back on August 30.
Rice tallied a total of 13 blocks on the day, including a team-high six blocks from Lademi Ogunlana. Hill, Jensen, and Kaitlyn Knobbe all had four blocks, Thea Carter had three, and Tchouangwa had two. Hill's four blocks were a new career high for the outside hitter.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE (RICE 26-24)
The Mavericks set the tempo for the set early, quickly jumping out to a 7-4 lead and forcing the Owls to call an early timeout. UTA led by as much as 12-7, but a 4-0 run by Rice cut the lead to one and forced a UTA timeout to be called. Rice tied the set multiple times, but a 3-0 run late in the match put the Mavericks up 20-17. Rice had a 3-0 run of its own to tie the set, and a back-and-forth battle started from there, neither team pulling away. In the end, a 3-0 run by the Owls, punctuated with a kill from Tchouangwa, sealed the set for Rice.
SET TWO (RICE 25-19)
The Owls never trailed after regaining the lead at 4-3, and the offense kept UTA at bay with a .533 kill percentage. The Owls bolstered the lead up to as much as 19-13, winning the set by the same six-point margin. Rice also tallied two blocks in the set to tally six total blocks through two sets.
SET THREE (UTA 25-22)
The Mavericks used an early 4-0 run to take a 9-6 lead and take control of the set early, but the Owls did not back down and fought to tie the match up at 15-15. A late 5-0 run by UTA was too much to overcome, despite a small run by Rice to cut the lead to 24-22. A final kill by UTA clinched the third set for the Mavericks, heading to the fourth set with Rice holding. 2-1 advantage.
SET FOUR (RICE 25-21)
While UTA looked to take an early lead at 7-3, the Owls swung back with a 5-0 run of its own to take a one-point lead and force a UTA timeout. After an 8-8 tie, the Owls never gave up the lead, building a large lead late at 21-15. Despite a three-point run by the Mavericks to cut the deficit at 21-18, Rice would get its final four points thanks to three kills from Hill and one from Skopal to clinch the match at 3-1.
UP NEXT
Rice takes on host and 23rd-ranked TCU to round out non-conference play for the 2024 season.
Team Stats
UTA
Rice
Kills
57
56
Errors
25
18
Attempts
155
141
Hitting %
.206
.270
Points
68.0
77.0
Assists
52
53
Aces
5
8
Blocks
6
13
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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