Rice Volleyball won both their games this weekend at the Kansas State University Invitational, defeating Long Island University 3-2 Friday and sweeping K-State in straight sets Saturday. Bouncing back after being swept by No. 6 University of Texas last Monday, the Owls are now 6-4 as they kick off their conference schedule Wednesday when they host the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
In their most recent match against No. 17 Xavier, ESPN displayed a graphic detailing the “Keys to the Game” that each team needed to follow to put themselves in the best position. What did they say for Rice?
One word can describe both the start of Rice’s matches this weekend and the start of the season: slow.
JT Daniels completes a pass on Saturday evening against Texas Southern University. Daniels threw for 255 passing yards and four touchdowns as he led the Owls to a 59-7 win over the Tigers.
President Reggie DesRoches stormed the field. Graduate transfer quarterback JT Daniels took selfies with students. Head coach Mike Bloomgren hoisted a golden bucket over his head. This was the scene following Rice Football’s 43-41 victory over the University of Houston Cougars in double overtime Saturday, bringing the Bayou Bucket back to Rice for the first time since 2010.
Rice Soccer has not won a game since August. Their four-game winless streak now includes this weekend’s 2-2 draw at Sam Houston State University and a 4-0 home loss to the Texas A&M University Aggies, dropping the Owls’ record to 2-5-1.
Despite coming into the season ranked No. 23 and rising as high as No. 18, Rice Volleyball now sits at 4-4 following a loss to No. 6 University of Texas Monday night.
Men’s and women’s cross country kicked off their seasons last Friday when both teams competed at the 47th annual Rice Invitational. The men’s team captured their sixth-straight Rice Invitational title while the women’s team recorded a second-place finish at the meet.
Volleyball hosted the No. 5 Stanford Cardinals on Sept. 5 for their third ranked matchup this season. Despite keeping the game close, the Owls were unable to win a set, and lost in straight sets 25-17, 26-24 and 25-21. Their loss dropped the Owls to 2-3 on the season, having now lost three games in a row.
The No. 18 Rice Owls fell to No. 16 Baylor Bears on the road Friday, losing three sets and winning one with scores of 25-13, 25-14, 24-26, and 25-23. The Owls’ late comeback attempt was not enough to overcome the early deficit, dropping the Owls to 2-2 on the year, their second straight loss.
Rice soccer lost both their games last weekend to the University of Houston and Loyola University Maryland, dropping to 2-4 to start the season. Despite winning two games in a row last week, tallying a combined seven goals, Rice scored just one and conceded four in their most recent bouts.
At Louisiana Tech University’s first football home opener in 2014, fireworks lit up their field — but not for them. In the last eight minutes of the game, their opponents from Northwestern State University had scored 10 points, then sealed their 30-27 victory with a tie-breaking 50-yard field goal. Not anticipating a loss, Louisiana Tech had pre-planned fireworks to celebrate their home opener.
Rice football led the University of Texas Longhorns for exactly 2 minutes and 40 seconds on Saturday when the teams met for the 97th time. Being ahead may have been unfamiliar, but the final result was not — Rice lost to Texas again, this time by a score of 37-10, for the Owls’ 75th loss against the Longhorns.
On Sept. 2, the Owls played their first football game as members of the American Athletic Conference. They lost to their 109-year rivals the University of Texas at Austin, just like they have in every meeting but two since 1963. In that time, much has changed about how those teams relate to each other: Texas is in a “power five” conference, and Rice is not; Texas has won four national championships, and Rice has won none. The Owls have gone from playing the Longhorns in a mid-October rivalry match to being a season-opening tune-up game.
After 20 years at Rice, Genny Volpe seems to have her routine down to a science. Her day begins with a large coffee, a workout or some emails and then the inevitable commute to downtown Houston.
The Owls won both of their games this past week to bounce back after two straight defeats to open their season. After a 6-0 loss against No. 9 Texas in Austin, the Owls returned to Houston to play at Texas Southern University on Friday, Aug. 25 hoping to turn their luck around for their first win of the season.
Sophomore setter Darby Harris celebrates winning a point. The Rice Owls swept the University of Southern California, ranked No. 22 in the nation, Saturday night.
