Virus takes toll on volleyball

By Paul Fitzgerald     9/17/09 7:00pm

If there were ever an inopportune time for the flu to hammer the volleyball team during the first half of the season, last weekend's Mizuno Invitational II was it. With numerous members battling the disease - including Jenn McClean, who was forced to leave midway through the tournament - the Owls (8-3) dropped a pair of matches to undefeated University of South Carolina and nationally-ranked Wichita State. Still, the week was not a total wash, as the Owls split their two defeats with a victory over Harvard University.

The Owls used this week to regain their health as they looked to the University of Texas at San Antonio Tournament. Rice faces off against Middle Tennessee State University (5-5), a participant in last year's NCAA Tournament, on Friday morning before facing the second-ranked team in the country, the University of Washington (8-0). The Owls conclude play against host UTSA (4-7) on Saturday.

Senior outside hitter and co-captain Natalie Bogan felt her team would be up to the challenge against the Huskies, the second ranked opponent Rice has faced this year.

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"We just expect to come out and do our best," Bogan said. "We love playing against really good teams, and we usually do better against good teams."

But, from time to time, those teams turn the tables on the Owls. Such was the case with the Gamecocks (6-0). Rice started strong against South Carolina, taking two of the first three sets, but dropped the final two frames to lose its first match in seven contests (20-25, 25- 21, 12-25, 25-21, 15-11).

Bogan's four kills got the Owls off to their strong start, pulling them back from South Carolina's 6-2 lead. In the second set, neither team could open up a sizeable advantage to start, but a 6-1 South Carolina run gave the Gamecocks a 14-9 advantage. The Owls battled back to take a 20-17 lead due to some sloppy play by the Gamecocks, but South Carolina came back strong to take the set 25-21.

The Owls pushed their momentum through the third set with an 11-2 run, utilizing Bogan and junior setter Meredith Schamun's 12 sets and six kills, respectively. Despite battling the flu, Schamun's execution of the Rice offense this weekend was impressively unimpaired.

South Carolina opened up a small advantage to start the fourth set, and maintained this advantage until a service ace by junior libero Tracey Lam gave the Owls an 16-14 lead. But the Gamecocks were not finished, taking control and winning 25-21 to force a fifth and final set.

The Owls dominated the beginning of the fifth set, opening up a 6-1 lead on the strength of their strong offense. A kill by junior middle blocker Caroline Gill extended the Rice lead to 10-8, but that would be the final tally in Rice's favor for the rest of the match, and a service ace from Gamecock standout Ivana Kujundzic ended the match.

Bogan finished the match with 20 kills and a match-high .432 hitting percentage, but was not on the floor at the end of the fifth set due to Rice's substitution rotation. Still, Head Coach Genny Volpe did not point to Bogan's absence as the reason for their loss.

"We played the game well from a statistical standpoint, and I believe we were the better team," Volpe said. "We made too many mistakes on the ball-control side, and it caught up to us, especially in the fourth set."

Looking to rebound, Rice came back impressively against Harvard (2-5) on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Crimson in straight sets (25-22, 25-21, 25-15).

Early back-and-forth play set up a 21-all score, but Rice took four of the next five for the set win. Sophomore outside hitter Ashleigh McCord's nine kills and Schamun's 15 assists led the Owls to a 1-0 advantage. Rice and Harvard played even at the beginning of the second set, but an 8-4 run by the Owls, punctuated by one of Bogan's six kills on the set, gave Rice the set win.

The end of the second set found Rice in a strong rhythm, and the women opened the third set by scoring the first six points, three of which came from McCord. The Owls dominated the remainder of the set, winning the frame 25-15, sealing the shutout of the Crimson.

McCord's five kills in the third set gave her 19 for the match.

Volpe saw the Harvard match as a crucial chance for getting McCord, who had been struggling, back on track.

"We knew the Harvard match would get her confidence going," Volpe said. "We've been working on getting her in a rhythm, and we really needed to get her going."

McCord continued her strong play against Wichita State (10-1), notching 21 kills. Her play, however, was not enough to earn Rice a victory, as the Owls, fatigued from the flu, dropped the match in four sets (19-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-21).

Despite the final score, during the first set it looked as if the Owls would trounce the Shockers in methodical fashion. McCord continued her hot play, recording six kills, while Schamun effectively directed the Owls' offense and earned 13 assists.

From that point on, however, the match went downhill for Rice. Bogan felt the flu's effect went beyond their level of fatigue and extended to their mental approach.

"When the girls on the team don't feel well, it kinda shows in our body language," Bogan said. "We play best when we're having fun and we're excited and talking. We lost a lot of moments because we weren't really ourselves during the match."

Wichita State, the team which ended Rice's season in last year's NCAA Tournament, opened up an 8-3 advantage, more than enough to cushion their second-set victory.

Rice and Wichita State played it close at the beginning of the third set, but after a 16-14 Rice lead, the Shockers stormed back to take 11 of the next 16 points.

Facing a 2-1 deficit, the Owls refused to quit, and found themselves tied at 10 with the Shockers midway through the fourth set. Wichita State then rattled off five consecutive points, but the Owls came back to cut the lead to one. They would get no closer, and a kill by the Shockers ended the set, and the match.

Despite the final result, Volpe had an inclination that, without the flu ravaging her team, the outcome might have been different.

"To be honest, I was most proud of the way we fought," Volpe said. "It was disappointing to not be at 100 percent strength. . If we meet that team again, there will be a different outcome.

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