Owls wipe out Green Wave for first time since 2005
The volleyball team's biggest victory of the season occurred last Friday, and it heralded the end of a multi-season losing streak against conference opponent Tulane University. The Owls (18-8, 10-5 Conference USA) then followed up that win with a defeat of University of Texas-El Paso Sunday afternoon that extended their winning streak to four matches in a row. Rice entered Friday's match in New Orleans without a win over Tulane (16-8, 11-4 C-USA) since 2005, and had weathered a three-set loss to the Green Wave earlier this season at Tudor Fieldhouse. The Owls knew a victory at Fogelman Arena would be no easy task - the Green Wave were 6-2 at home entering the game. However, the Owls emerged from the match with a three-set victory, 26-24, 25-23, 25-19.
Tulane demonstrated that, once again, they would not be easy to beat, and began with a closely contested opening set. Rice opened up a four-point lead midway through the set, and Tulane responded by taking a 22-20 lead. The Owls fought back, however, and a kill by freshman middle blocker Nancy Cole, followed by a block by Cole and senior outside hitter Jessie Boulavsky, gave Rice a 1-0 lead. Cole went on to post eight kills and a .615 hitting percentage for the match.
The second set was just as tight as the first, with neither team opening an advantage of more than four points. Tulane responded to the Owls' four-point lead by cutting the deficit to one point, at 24-23, before a kill by senior outside hitter Jennifer McClean gave Rice the second set. McClean finished the day tied for the team lead with 11 kills.
Facing a 2-0 deficit, Tulane took a 12-10 lead to begin the third set. However, Rice scored 15 of the next 22 points to take the third set and clinch the match. McClean led the Owls in the third set with six kills, and junior setter Meredith Schamun's 10 assists gave her a match-high 34.
Sophomore outside hitter Ashleigh McCord posted a .500 hitting percentage on 11 kills, but it was the defense's success that led them to a victory. Junior libero Tracey Lam reached double-digit digs with 11, and the team had seven blocks while forcing Tulane to hit .111 as a team, a fact not lost on Schamun.
"Our blocking was the best it's been all year, and our defense picked up this game," Schamun said. "We forced Tulane to attempt shots that they couldn't make, and that was the key to the match."
Rice's earlier loss this year saw Tulane outside hitter Visnja Djurdjevic record 18 kills. The Owls made it a point to limit the prolific Djurdjevic, and though she recorded 14 kills this time around, she only posted a hitting percentage of .171. Head Coach Genny Volpe was disappointed with her team's performance in the earlier match this season, but she said she could not be prouder of the team's effort Friday.
"We really played to our potential and flustered a good team in Tulane," Volpe said. "[We] played with such focus, intensity and confidence, and I was just so proud of them."
While the team spent much of the week preparing for a strong Tulane squad, it still had work to do to complete its second consecutive 2-0 weekend. The team jumped from New Orleans to El Paso, a journey of over 1,000 miles, to face a UTEP (11-17, 4-11 C-USA) squad that needed a win to avoid being eliminated from participating in the conference tournament. The game was further complicated by UTEP's senior night, a program that honored five graduating seniors. Still, while the pressure and pomp clearly energized UTEP, Rice defeated the Miners in four sets (25-20, 25-18, 25-22, 25-17).
Once again, Rice put on a strong defensive performance, as McClean and Lam both had double-digit digs. The team as a whole had eight blocks, with Bogan, Cole and McCord all notching four block assists. McCord also excelled on the offensive end, with 16 kills and a match-high .714 hitting percentage.
Given all the obstacles facing them in El Paso, Volpe stressed the importance of following up Friday's victory with a win over UTEP.
"If we play the stronger team on Friday, we can easily let up and say the hard part is over," Volpe said. "We knew UTEP would come out going for it and they did, and it was great to maintain our composure."
With their two victories this past weekend, Rice rests in fourth place with just one game remaining. The Owls hosted the University of Houston, a team they have defeated once this season, yesterday evening at Tudor. A win would guarantee the team at least a tie for fourth, with the possibility of a second-place finish if some matches finish favorably for them.
However, Schamun said the team was not anticipating the postseason just yet, and instead was zeroing in on the task of beating the Cougars (9-21, 6-9 C-USA).
"The last four games have had good chemistry and team defense, and we'll work to keep our defense up," Schamun said. "[It's] another challenge for us to overcome.
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