Rice Volleyball will soon begin its 2021 spring season. From the key games to preseason accolades. Here’s everything you need to know.
Amid the many changes forced on college athletics by COVID-19, Conference USA moved all fall team sports (except football) to the spring semester. That included the Rice Volleyball season, which will begin in late January now rather than having its traditional fall start. When the Owls do retake the court, they’ll do so with robust expectations.
Rice Volleyball has continued to climp under the direction of head coach Genny Volpe. The Owls have reached the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons, winning 20+ games in all three years. In the Owls’ most recent campaign, they finished an outstanding 27-4. That’s a high bar, but the Owls won’t shy away from the lofty precedent.
Preseason C-USA Poll
Conference USA moved to divisional formats for the season rather than the traditional top-to-bottom ranks. Rice was picked to win the West. Western Kentucky was picked to win the East. The Owls finished a game behind the Hilltoppers in the overall conference standings last season.
📢: Announcing the 2021 #CUSAVB Preseason Poll as voted on by the league’s coaches! #TheCUSAWay 🏐
🗞 | https://t.co/fl7wUESoFC pic.twitter.com/0copE49Cez
— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) January 14, 2021
Preseason All C-USA Team selections
Rice had two players selected to the preseason All-Conference team: Nicole Lennon and Anota Adekunle. Both earned First Team All-Conference selections at the end of last season.
📢: Announcing your 2021 #CUSAVB Preseason All-Conference Team as voted on by the league’s coaches! 🏐 #TheCUSAWay
🗞 | https://t.co/fl7wUEANO4 pic.twitter.com/TmCaVoxYFI
— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) January 14, 2021
Notable games
Rice opens their season at Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 23. Then they’ll make the short trip down the road to the Fertitta Center to play Houston on Sunday, Jan. 24. That marks the first set of a series of couplets versus like opponents.
Conference play begins on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8 at home against Louisiana Tech. The Owls will play 12 conference games against six opponents before closing out their regular season with marquee matchups home against Baylor (Mar. 19) and at Texas (Mar. 23.)
Any necessary makeup games will be played the week between those nonconference games at the Conference USA Tournament, slated to begin on April 1. You can see the complete schedule here.
Offseason notes
Rice Volleyball was featured in part of our extended offseason showcase, featuring stories about Nicole Lennon’s ascent and expectations for the team in 2021 any beyond. You can check those five pieces out here.
