Thursday, September 5
Houston, Texas
6 PM
Rice University
3-1,0-0AAC
3
vs
0
South Alabama
1-2,0-0Sun Belt
1
2
3
F
South Alabama
20
16
21
0
Rice
25
25
25
3
Owls Take Down South Alabama in Straight Sets
9/5/2024 7:46:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Rice finishes the weekend with UNLV on Saturday
HOUSTON - Cindy Tchouangwa's 12 kills led the way for a Rice (3-1) straight set victory over the South Alabama Jaguars (1-2) on Thursday evening at Tudor Fieldhouse.
"We are very happy to finish the night with a sweep of a really good South Alabama team," said head coach Genny Volpe about the team's performance. "They stressed us pretty early on with tough serving and speed of attack, but I was happy how we were able to settle in relatively quickly and get our serve and pass back on track as well as our transition attacking."
"I thought Nia made some really scrappy plays tonight and Thea Carter was a great spark plug off the bench that we needed," she continued.
"Overall, we looked to clean some things up, but we face a very strong UNLV team on Saturday so we hope to have a great crowd out for that match at 1 p.m.!"
Tchouangwa's 12 kills gives her 49 total through four matches, scoring in double figures in three of her first four matches this season. Kaitlyn Knobbe and Samarah Hill also had nine kills each, and Katrina Jensen went off for a season-high six kills. Nia McCardell also had her first kill since last season against East Carolina.
On the defensive side, Darby Harris led all players with 13 digs, with McCardell not far behind with 12. South Alabama's Briana Wilson led the Jaguars with 11 digs.
Knobbe was dominant at the net with three solo blocks on the night, a season-high. Lademi Ogunlana has two block assists, while Jensen and Thea Carter had an assist each.
The evening was a night of firsts, Savannah Skopal had the first ace of her career in the third set, white Carter had her first multi-kill game in her young career.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE (RICE 25-20)
While neither side pulled too far away from each other, the Owls looked to be one step ahead and managed to silence any Jaguar rally that occured, with South Alabama never leading by more than one point at any time in the first set. 17 kills by the Owls, along with big block by Knobbe, powered the Owls to a set one victory.
SET TWO (RICE 25-16)
Rice was the aggressor in the second set, with the Owls and the Jaguars only having two ties the entire set, the rest of the time the Owls continued to build the lead before taking the second set by a final score of 25-16. Knobbe continued to control the game, with two kills on three attempts for a .667 hitting percentage. She also accounted for three assists and two blocks. Tchouangwa's five kills in the second set and a block assist helped guide the Owls to a big 2-0 lead through two sets.
SET THREE (RICE 25-21)
Rice's 19 kills were the story of the third set, with five Owls tallying multiple kills in the final set of the night. Carter led the way with five sets, while Knobbe and Jensen both had four just in the third set. Hill earned three kills and Tchouangwa capped off her night with her final two kills in her 12-kill performance. Skopal had the majority of her assists in the final set, tallying 15 of her 27 in the third. The Owls overpowered the Jaguars in the final set to take the match in straight sets and improve to 3-1 on the season.
UP NEXT
Rice gets a day of rest before taking on UNLV on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Tudor Fieldhouse.
"We are very happy to finish the night with a sweep of a really good South Alabama team," said head coach Genny Volpe about the team's performance. "They stressed us pretty early on with tough serving and speed of attack, but I was happy how we were able to settle in relatively quickly and get our serve and pass back on track as well as our transition attacking."
"I thought Nia made some really scrappy plays tonight and Thea Carter was a great spark plug off the bench that we needed," she continued.
"Overall, we looked to clean some things up, but we face a very strong UNLV team on Saturday so we hope to have a great crowd out for that match at 1 p.m.!"
Tchouangwa's 12 kills gives her 49 total through four matches, scoring in double figures in three of her first four matches this season. Kaitlyn Knobbe and Samarah Hill also had nine kills each, and Katrina Jensen went off for a season-high six kills. Nia McCardell also had her first kill since last season against East Carolina.
On the defensive side, Darby Harris led all players with 13 digs, with McCardell not far behind with 12. South Alabama's Briana Wilson led the Jaguars with 11 digs.
Knobbe was dominant at the net with three solo blocks on the night, a season-high. Lademi Ogunlana has two block assists, while Jensen and Thea Carter had an assist each.
The evening was a night of firsts, Savannah Skopal had the first ace of her career in the third set, white Carter had her first multi-kill game in her young career.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE (RICE 25-20)
While neither side pulled too far away from each other, the Owls looked to be one step ahead and managed to silence any Jaguar rally that occured, with South Alabama never leading by more than one point at any time in the first set. 17 kills by the Owls, along with big block by Knobbe, powered the Owls to a set one victory.
SET TWO (RICE 25-16)
Rice was the aggressor in the second set, with the Owls and the Jaguars only having two ties the entire set, the rest of the time the Owls continued to build the lead before taking the second set by a final score of 25-16. Knobbe continued to control the game, with two kills on three attempts for a .667 hitting percentage. She also accounted for three assists and two blocks. Tchouangwa's five kills in the second set and a block assist helped guide the Owls to a big 2-0 lead through two sets.
SET THREE (RICE 25-21)
Rice's 19 kills were the story of the third set, with five Owls tallying multiple kills in the final set of the night. Carter led the way with five sets, while Knobbe and Jensen both had four just in the third set. Hill earned three kills and Tchouangwa capped off her night with her final two kills in her 12-kill performance. Skopal had the majority of her assists in the final set, tallying 15 of her 27 in the third. The Owls overpowered the Jaguars in the final set to take the match in straight sets and improve to 3-1 on the season.
UP NEXT
Rice gets a day of rest before taking on UNLV on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Tudor Fieldhouse.
Team Stats
USA
Rice
Kills
31
45
Errors
14
19
Attempts
107
114
Hitting %
.159
.228
Points
36.0
54.0
Assists
30
40
Aces
0
4
Blocks
5
5
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballVB: Rice-Texas Postgame Presser
Saturday, December 04
VB: Rice-San Diego Postgame Presser
Thursday, December 02