Dec. 5, 2008

Box Score

Box Score in PDF Format

Austin, Texas - The Rice volleyball team saw its season end in the NCAA First Round with a 3-1 loss to 13th ranked Wichita State. Game scores were 21-25, 23-25, 15-25, 20-25. The Owls, playing in their second-ever NCAA tournament match, ended their season with a 23-8 record. The Shockers improve to 30-1 and will face either third-ranked Texas or Lamar on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in Gregory Gymnasium.

"I was noticing that we were overplaying a little bit, we were over-focused," said Rice head coach Genny Volpe. "The speed of our offense and defense overwhelmed WSU in the first game. I think that our downfall in the second and third games was that we were trying to overdo it a little bit, and we weren't patient with our serves. Our team got over amped. I told them to remember to stick with trusting our system and slowing down a little bit.

In set one, the Owls were down 8-6 before taking a 10-9 lead. With a slim 15-14, Rice then went on a 5-1 run to forge a 20-15 lead that it would not relinquish. Jessica Holderness and Natalie Bogan provided kills for the Owls' final two points. Karyn Morgan led all attackers in the first set with 5 kills as Rice totaled 16 kills and a .355 attack percentage. Wichita State had 10 kills and a .121 attack percentage.

Wichita State came from behind late in set two to win 25-23. The Owls held a 20-17 lead before the Shockers outscored Rice 8-3 to win the set. WSU hit .275 with 17 kills, while Rice managed 10 kills and a .184 attack percentage.

The Owls opened up set three with 4-0 lead, but following a Wichita State timeout, the Shockers rallied and scored 10 of the next 13 points for a 10-7 lead. Rice got to within two points at 12-10, but WSU went on an 8 to 4 run for a commanding 20-14 lead. Wichita State would close the match by outscoring the Owls 5 to 1 for the 25-15 victory.

The Shockers hit an astounding .625 attack percentage with 15 kills, while limiting Rice to 13 kills and a .162 attack percentage in the deciding set.

On the night, Rice hit .185 with 50 kills and was led by Karyn Morgan's 15 kills and 13 digs. Jessica Holderness and Ashleigh McCord added 11 kills each. Holderness also had a double-double with 11 digs. Natalie Bogan also had 10 kills

Rice setter Meredith Schamun had 40 assists, while libero Tracey Lam posted 9 digs. Lam ended the season with 569 digs, which ties the school single-season record of 569 set by Yvette Kirk in 2006.

Wichita State hit .276 with 55 kills. Emily Stockman posted 12 kills, while Lindsey Jakubov added 10 kills and a .348 attack percentage.

Said Volpe on advancing to the NCAA tournament, "This experience is huge because the younger players have a taste of what it's like to go to post-season. This is big for the team in that they see that we can compete at this level. The experience, rather than the idea, is huge. We're establishing ourselves as a program that expects to be in the NCAA championship."