
Volpe Earns Win No. 400 as Rice Takes Down Tulane to Open AAC Play
9/27/2024 9:41:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
NEW ORLEANS, La. – Needing a fifth set to clinch victory, the Rice Owls volleyball team took down Tulane with a 3-2 final score to win its first game in American Athletic Conference play on Friday afternoon.
The game marked head coach Genny Volpe's 400th career coaching victory, all of which have come at Rice University. Volpe is in her 21st year at the helm of the Owls.
"It took every single one of us to win this match today," said Volpe. "A win on the road is always a great thing, and credit to Tulane for an extremely competitive match. This conference just continues to showcase great talent, and we are definitely going to learn a lot from today's match and prep hard for our AAC home opener Sunday vs. UTSA. We need Rice Nation to come out to Tudor!"
Cindy Tchouangwa and Lademi Ogunlana both set career-highs in kills with 18 and 18, respectively. Tchouangwa also had the first double-double of her career with 10 digs to go with her 19 kills. Lola Foord was the third Owl with a double-digit kill game with 11.
Savannah Skopal recorded the third double-double of her freshman season with 41 assists and 11 digs. Kaia Mateo also had 12 assists, Darby Harris had seven, and Gaby Mansfield had two to tally 63 total assists.
Rice compiled nine total blocks, with Foord, Katrina Jensen, and Tchouangwa accounting for six of the blocks with two each. Kaitlyn Knobbe, Mateo, and Ogunlana had one each.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE (RICE 26-24)
The Green Wave (8-5) built up large leads of five- and six-points multiple times in the set, forcing the Owls (6-4) to call both timeouts before more than 15 points were scored in the period. When Tulane took a 15-9 lead, the Owls went on a 6-0 run to tie the match up at 15-all. A 5-0 run shortly after that in the set put the Owls on top at 22-20.While the Green Wave tied the match up and traded blows with the Owls, Rice scored the final two points to take the first set with a 26-24 final.
SET TWO (TULANE 25-21)
Rice took an early 7-5 lead, forcing the Green Wave to take an early timeout. Tulane fought to take a 13-10 lead, forcing Rice to respond with a timeout of its own. Tulane would consistently hold a three-point lead until taking a larger lead at 21-16. Rice made a dent into the lead with a 3-0 run at 21-19, but Tulane scored four of the final six points to even the match at 1-1.
SET THREE (RICE 28-26)
Rice's early 4-2 lead disappeared with a 6-0 run by Tulane, who saw Rice take a timeout after taking an 8-4 lead. Rice's fight did not disappear, as the Owls continued until tying the match at 14-14. Tulane would try to pull away after taking a two-point lead at 17-15, but would not let the Green Wave build a large lead. The Owls eventually tied the set at 22-22 and took a 23-22 lead before Tulane responded with two more points. Rice did not lead again until scoring the 27th point, then a service ace would put the Owls two points ahead, giving them a 2-1 advantage in the match.
SET FOUR (TULANE 25-16)
Rice never took the lead in the fourth set and played behind after tying the set for the first time at 3-3. After the Owls tied the match at 13-13, Tulane went on a 10-3 run, including a 5-0 run after Rice cut the lead to 20-16 to clinch the fourth set and send the match to the fifth.
SET FIVE (RICE 15-12)
The Owls took a fast 3-0 lead, then regained the three-point lead at 6-3 to make Tulane call timeout. While Tulane did score the next point, Rice scored two to take an 8-4 lead. Both sides traded points, and Tulane called its final timeout after Rice took a 10-6 lead. While the Green Wave tried to rally with a 3-0 run to cut the lead to 12-10, Rice applied more pressure by scoring two to take a 14-10 lead. Tulane's two points were too little too late, as a final kill from Tchouangwa gave Rice the 3-2 victory and a 1-0 record in the AAC.
UP NEXT
Rice will host its AAC home opener against UTSA on Sunday, September 29. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
The game marked head coach Genny Volpe's 400th career coaching victory, all of which have come at Rice University. Volpe is in her 21st year at the helm of the Owls.
"It took every single one of us to win this match today," said Volpe. "A win on the road is always a great thing, and credit to Tulane for an extremely competitive match. This conference just continues to showcase great talent, and we are definitely going to learn a lot from today's match and prep hard for our AAC home opener Sunday vs. UTSA. We need Rice Nation to come out to Tudor!"
Cindy Tchouangwa and Lademi Ogunlana both set career-highs in kills with 18 and 18, respectively. Tchouangwa also had the first double-double of her career with 10 digs to go with her 19 kills. Lola Foord was the third Owl with a double-digit kill game with 11.
Savannah Skopal recorded the third double-double of her freshman season with 41 assists and 11 digs. Kaia Mateo also had 12 assists, Darby Harris had seven, and Gaby Mansfield had two to tally 63 total assists.
Rice compiled nine total blocks, with Foord, Katrina Jensen, and Tchouangwa accounting for six of the blocks with two each. Kaitlyn Knobbe, Mateo, and Ogunlana had one each.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE (RICE 26-24)
The Green Wave (8-5) built up large leads of five- and six-points multiple times in the set, forcing the Owls (6-4) to call both timeouts before more than 15 points were scored in the period. When Tulane took a 15-9 lead, the Owls went on a 6-0 run to tie the match up at 15-all. A 5-0 run shortly after that in the set put the Owls on top at 22-20.While the Green Wave tied the match up and traded blows with the Owls, Rice scored the final two points to take the first set with a 26-24 final.
SET TWO (TULANE 25-21)
Rice took an early 7-5 lead, forcing the Green Wave to take an early timeout. Tulane fought to take a 13-10 lead, forcing Rice to respond with a timeout of its own. Tulane would consistently hold a three-point lead until taking a larger lead at 21-16. Rice made a dent into the lead with a 3-0 run at 21-19, but Tulane scored four of the final six points to even the match at 1-1.
SET THREE (RICE 28-26)
Rice's early 4-2 lead disappeared with a 6-0 run by Tulane, who saw Rice take a timeout after taking an 8-4 lead. Rice's fight did not disappear, as the Owls continued until tying the match at 14-14. Tulane would try to pull away after taking a two-point lead at 17-15, but would not let the Green Wave build a large lead. The Owls eventually tied the set at 22-22 and took a 23-22 lead before Tulane responded with two more points. Rice did not lead again until scoring the 27th point, then a service ace would put the Owls two points ahead, giving them a 2-1 advantage in the match.
SET FOUR (TULANE 25-16)
Rice never took the lead in the fourth set and played behind after tying the set for the first time at 3-3. After the Owls tied the match at 13-13, Tulane went on a 10-3 run, including a 5-0 run after Rice cut the lead to 20-16 to clinch the fourth set and send the match to the fifth.
SET FIVE (RICE 15-12)
The Owls took a fast 3-0 lead, then regained the three-point lead at 6-3 to make Tulane call timeout. While Tulane did score the next point, Rice scored two to take an 8-4 lead. Both sides traded points, and Tulane called its final timeout after Rice took a 10-6 lead. While the Green Wave tried to rally with a 3-0 run to cut the lead to 12-10, Rice applied more pressure by scoring two to take a 14-10 lead. Tulane's two points were too little too late, as a final kill from Tchouangwa gave Rice the 3-2 victory and a 1-0 record in the AAC.
UP NEXT
Rice will host its AAC home opener against UTSA on Sunday, September 29. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Rice
Tulane
Kills
69
66
Errors
26
19
Attempts
197
180
Hitting %
.218
.261
Points
78.0
86.0
Assists
63
60
Aces
2
5
Blocks
7
15
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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