Thursday, November 29
Austin, Texas
4:00 p.m. CT
Rice University
1
vs
3
Texas State (NCAA 1st Round)
Photo by: Maria Lysaker - Rice Athletics
Owls Banner Season Concludes in Austin
11/29/2018 8:31:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Volleyball falls to Texas State in NCAA First Round
AUSTIN, Texas – One of the best seasons in Rice Volleyball history came to a close Thursday evening with the Owls dropping a 3-1 decision (25-23, 22-25, 22-25, 25-27) to Texas State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at the University of Texas' Gregory Gymnasium.
Rice (24-7) outhit the Bobcats (27-6) by a margin of .245-.237 but Texas State outgained the Owls in kills (65-57), service aces (8-3) and digs (72-63).
The two teams played a tight contest which consisted of 30 ties (15 of which came in the fourth set) and eight lead changes.
Sophomore outside hitter and Conference USA Player of the Year Nicole Lennon led the Owls with 19 kills along with 12 digs for her team-leading 19th double-double of the season. Her 19 kills surpassed Karyn Morgan (15 kills, 2008) for the most kills by an Owl in an NCAA Tournament match.
Middle blocker Anota Adekunle continued her late season push as one of the best freshmen in the country with 15 kills (.481) and eight block. Adekunle's hitting percentage and eight blocks were also Rice records in the NCAA Tournament.
Junior libero Lee Ann Cunningham led the Owls with 19 digs, to go along with seven assists.
Rice won the C-USA regular season title for the first time in program history as well as the C-USA Tournament, in addition to their fifth straight season with 20 or more wins.
RICE HEAD COACH GENNY VOLPE
Postgame Reaction…
"That was a tough match. Obviously, congratulations to Texas State, they played a great match. There was a lot of balance in their attack and that turned out to be the difference. Our team had a great season. I'm really proud of my players for what we accomplished this year. It's just unfortunate we couldn't pull it out today. This team has been a joy to coach and an inspiration to me. They come into the gym every day with a smile on their face and are amazing student-athletes. They wanted to have a championship season and never left their foot off the gas. They work hard but also know how to enjoy the moment and I think they served as an inspiration to other teams in how united they were."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
The Owls won their first set in the NCAA Tournament since 2008 with a 25-23 victory over the Bobcats, led by six kills from Lennon. Rice hit a superb .417 for the set with a 79 percent sideout rate. Adekunle, Grace Morgan, and Kassidy Muse all contributed three kills apiece while setter Adria Martinez dished out 10 assists. Texas State led 15-12 midway through the frame but Rice responded with a 7-0 run out of the media timeout to take the lead for good.
Set 2
Adekunle posted six kills on nine attacks in the second frame but the Bobcats' were able to match the Owls with seven kills from Cheyenne Huskey in a 25-22 Texas State victory. The Bobcats never trailed in the set and held off a late 5-1 run by the Owls after Rice had closed to within 24-22.
Set 3
Both teams struggled on the offensive end in the third frame with Rice holding an edge of .103-.024. However, Huskey added seven more of her match-high 23 kills and limited Rice to a 56 percent sideout rate. The Bobcats broke a 16-16 tie by outscoring the Owls 9-6 the rest of the way for a 25-22 victory.
Set 4
Rice fell behind by as much as 18-14 in the final set but the Owls refused to go away quietly, and even took a 24-23 lead after a kill by Lennon. Texas State would hold serve on set point twice before taking a 26-25 lead themselves and then clinched the match on one of Madison Daigle's 11 kills.
-RiceOwls.com-
Rice (24-7) outhit the Bobcats (27-6) by a margin of .245-.237 but Texas State outgained the Owls in kills (65-57), service aces (8-3) and digs (72-63).
The two teams played a tight contest which consisted of 30 ties (15 of which came in the fourth set) and eight lead changes.
Sophomore outside hitter and Conference USA Player of the Year Nicole Lennon led the Owls with 19 kills along with 12 digs for her team-leading 19th double-double of the season. Her 19 kills surpassed Karyn Morgan (15 kills, 2008) for the most kills by an Owl in an NCAA Tournament match.
Middle blocker Anota Adekunle continued her late season push as one of the best freshmen in the country with 15 kills (.481) and eight block. Adekunle's hitting percentage and eight blocks were also Rice records in the NCAA Tournament.
Junior libero Lee Ann Cunningham led the Owls with 19 digs, to go along with seven assists.
Rice won the C-USA regular season title for the first time in program history as well as the C-USA Tournament, in addition to their fifth straight season with 20 or more wins.
Postgame Reaction…
"That was a tough match. Obviously, congratulations to Texas State, they played a great match. There was a lot of balance in their attack and that turned out to be the difference. Our team had a great season. I'm really proud of my players for what we accomplished this year. It's just unfortunate we couldn't pull it out today. This team has been a joy to coach and an inspiration to me. They come into the gym every day with a smile on their face and are amazing student-athletes. They wanted to have a championship season and never left their foot off the gas. They work hard but also know how to enjoy the moment and I think they served as an inspiration to other teams in how united they were."
Set 1
The Owls won their first set in the NCAA Tournament since 2008 with a 25-23 victory over the Bobcats, led by six kills from Lennon. Rice hit a superb .417 for the set with a 79 percent sideout rate. Adekunle, Grace Morgan, and Kassidy Muse all contributed three kills apiece while setter Adria Martinez dished out 10 assists. Texas State led 15-12 midway through the frame but Rice responded with a 7-0 run out of the media timeout to take the lead for good.
Set 2
Adekunle posted six kills on nine attacks in the second frame but the Bobcats' were able to match the Owls with seven kills from Cheyenne Huskey in a 25-22 Texas State victory. The Bobcats never trailed in the set and held off a late 5-1 run by the Owls after Rice had closed to within 24-22.
Set 3
Both teams struggled on the offensive end in the third frame with Rice holding an edge of .103-.024. However, Huskey added seven more of her match-high 23 kills and limited Rice to a 56 percent sideout rate. The Bobcats broke a 16-16 tie by outscoring the Owls 9-6 the rest of the way for a 25-22 victory.
Set 4
Rice fell behind by as much as 18-14 in the final set but the Owls refused to go away quietly, and even took a 24-23 lead after a kill by Lennon. Texas State would hold serve on set point twice before taking a 26-25 lead themselves and then clinched the match on one of Madison Daigle's 11 kills.
-RiceOwls.com-