The Rice Thresher

Location: http://the.ricethresher.org/sports/2006/10/27/volleyball_final_home_matches

October 27, 2006 > Sports > Volleyball hosts final two home matches against SMU and Tulsa

Volleyball hosts final two home matches against SMU and Tulsa

By Dylan Farmer | Thresher Editorial Staff

The volleyball team lost three of four matches on its two-week road trip, defeating the University of Texas-El Paso Oct. 14 before regressing with three straight losses to Tulane University, East Carolina University and Marshall University. With its record taking yet another hit (the Owls are 11-14 overall and 4-7 in Conference USA), Rice had to look for small victories, which it found in the play of freshmen Jennifer McClean and Natalie Bogan.

This weekend, Rice returns to Autry Court for its last two games of the season, facing Southern Methodist University tonight at 7 p.m. and Conference USA-leading Tulsa at 1 p.m. Sunday.

On last week’s road trip, McClean emerged with veteran-style play, recording a team-high 18 kills and 11 digs in the Owls’ 3-2 win over UTEP. It was her seventh double-double in kills and digs for the year, and her first of three on the trip.

Rice easily took the first game by a 30-16 score, but after Bogan put the Miners in a 2-0 hole with six kills in game two, UTEP battled back. They overwhelmed the hurried Rice defense in games three and four to force a deciding game five, but McClean put a stop to their momentum. She scored four of the Owls’ first five points as the Owls took a 10-5 lead and never relinquished it, taking the set 15-8 and sealing the victory in the match.

McClean’s play never let up in Rice’s 3-1 loss to Tulane Oct. 14, in which she led the team with 22 kills and was second behind junior libero Yvette Kirk with 14 digs. She also recorded a phenomenal .455 hitting percentage, the highest of any player on the court and well above the Owls’ .260 team average.

However, Rice simply could not muster the offense necessary to outscore Tulane, and the Green Wave came back with three straight set victories after the Owls jumped out to a 1-0 lead.

Head coach Genny Volpe said McClean’s performances showed she has matured since the beginning of the season.

“McClean has really made some significant strides in her offensive game,” she said. “She is producing a ton for someone in her position, and we’re asking a lot of her. She’s handling it really well, and from the beginning of the season to now she’s only gotten better.”

The freshmen again provided the Owls with a solid base in their last two matches, a 3-2 loss to East Carolina last Friday and a 3-0 loss to Marshall Sunday. McClean averaged 3.38 kills per game and 2.63 digs per game to finish the trip, and Bogan led the team with 14 kills against Marshall. Ultimately, however, the Owls still struggled offensively, averaging an abysmal .141 hitting percentage against East Carolina and a better but still ineffective .223 against the Thundering Herd.

Despite the losses, Volpe said she was pleased with the team’s performance at the end of the weekend.

“Against Marshall we played so much better than we did against East Carolina,” she said. “It was much better, much cleaner volleyball, and it showed a lot of confidence, especially with our defense. That match could have gone either way with just a few points — we just need to get a little bit more on the offensive side.”

SMU (13-12, 4-7 C-USA), the Owls’ Friday opponent, is ranked 9th in Conference USA, one spot ahead of the Owls. The Mustangs have lost seven of their last ten matches, but they have a much better conference road record (3-2) than home (1-5), and the Owls will have to fight around twice-Conference USA defensive player of the week Candice Davis in order to win.

Tulsa (22-5, 9-2 C-USA) will be the Owls’ toughest conference test so far this season. The Golden Hurricane’s last loss was to Memphis Oct. 13 in a close five-game match, and since then they have dropped only one set, sweeping the University of Alabama-Birmingham and Tulane, and winning 3-1 over UTEP.

Volpe said the Owls’ key to success is controlling unforced errors.

“There isn’t anything dramatic that really has to change with us,” she said. “It’s just little things — taking care of the ball at the right times, being a little more aggressive at crunch time. We’re getting better, we just need to take care of the ball when it counts.”

End of article

Back to top