The source for Rice sports news

Rice Volleyball: Owls must replace important pieces

By

It’s hard to accomplish all Rice Volleyball did in 2019 without a core group of experienced players. The Owls will have to replace several key seniors.

Rice volleyball had a delicate mix of experienced veterans and up-and-coming underclassmen on their 2019 team. They’re fortunate to only have to replace a few key pieces on a team poised to reload and seek another NCAA berth.

The outgoing seniors, although few in number, played huge roles in the Owls’ success on the court. Head coach Genny Volpe admitted it won’t be a seamless transition. “It’s hard [to replace those seniors],” quickly transitioning to those waiting in the wings. “We’ve got some really talented players coming in and we have some players that are currently on the team that maybe had smaller roles that are looking to fulfill bigger roles.”

Volpe and her staff had started to identify those players this spring before the coronavirus shutdown put an indefinite pause on their spring activities. There will be plenty of time to look forward to that future. Now is the time for an assessment of just what those reinforcements will be supplanting.

The most notable departing senior is setter Adria Martinez. She had more than half of the Owls’ assists on the season, sharing the setting duties with sophomore Carly Graham. Martinez was one of three players to never miss a set all season. The other two, senior Lee Ann Cunningham and graduate Tabitha Brown, have also played their final games at Rice.

Cunningham served as the team’s libero, leading the team in digs. Brown was an impactful outside hitter. That trio of Martinez, Cunningham and Brown combined for 1068 digs over the course of the season. Fortunately seven-time Conference USA Player of the Week Nicole Lennon will return in 2020, but that’s still plenty of defensive turnover.

Outside hitters Grace Morgan and Tori Woogk round out the outgoing collection of Owls. Both were contributors on the attack, racking up 193 and 116 kills respectively. Morgan’s 265 points were third-most on the team.

Those seniors played crucial roles in pushing Rice volleyball to its historic season, but they didn’t get the Owls’ there on their own. Rice has plenty of talent on the roster. The new faces just need their moment in the spotlight. That will come soon enough.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Volleyball: Owls’ soar to new heights in 2019 season

By

Rice Volleyball soared to new heights in 2019, establishing themselves as a bonafide contender in the sport at the national level.

The 2019 Rice volleyball season was among the most memorable campaigns in school history. Program first’s were littered throughout the year. Rice earned its first Top 25 ranking in school history. They knocked off No. 3 Texas at Tudor Fieldhouse. They won their first-ever NCAA Tournament match. It’s hard to put such an incredible run into words. One video will have to suffice:

Yes someone with crutches is jumping for joy. Pure elation personified in 20 seconds of fervor.

“It was definitely a season that I’m not going to forget and I’m sure the players on the team won’t either, especially the seniors,” recalls head coach Genny Volpe, the winningest coach in school history. Rice has been a perennial power under Volpe’s direction, but the Owls took their success up a notch in 2019.

Rice has lost fewer than 10 matches six times in Volpe’s tenure, an impressive feat considering seasons average roughly 30 matches. The 27-4 record was Volpe’s best yet. 20 of their 27 wins were three-game sweeps. Of their four losses, three of them came down to the final game.

None of it surprised Volpe, who saw the focus in her team from the start. “When I saw that preparation, the expectation was to do a lot of things that we did.”

Expectation is one thing. Turning that into reality is a process that turns hope into the things of legend.

“To finally put our stamp on a couple of signatures wins [was huge]. We’ve been close so many times,” she said. “This year we were consistent in our execution, our practice, our approach to all the little things that matter.”

On some level, the 2019 season and win over Texas marked the arrival of the zenith of a decades-long journey for the Rice volleyball program. The Owls had been a local power, but things feel slightly different now. The top programs in the state and around the country must look at Rice as an athletic peer. For a university that boasts an alumni base smaller than the on campus population of other state schools, that distinction carries a weighty significance.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

The Roost Podcast | Ep. 26 – Rice Owls Voice JP Heath and 2010s Mount Rushmore

By

The spring Rice Athletics seasons have come to an end, freeing up Rice Owls Voice JP Heath to join the show and talk Rice greats of the past decade.

On a normal evening in late-March, Rice Owls Voice JP Heath would be calling a Rice Baseball game. An NCAA Tournament berth for a hopeful Rice women’s basketball team could have been on the docket, too. With Rice Athletics on hiatus til at least the fall, he joined The Roost Podcast to recap a wild few weeks in sports.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. Last week we talked with Erica Ogwumike. For now, Give a listen to Episode 26.

Episode 26 Notes

  • JP’s journey to Rice — Starting with his days in Commerce, Texas, JP recounts his journey to South Main.
  • Rice Athletics in the 2010s — Starting with his first season on the diamond in 2009, JP’s been around to see coaching transitions for Rice baseball (Wayne Graham to Matt Bragga), Rice basketball (Mike Rhoades to Scott Pera) and Rice football (David Bailiff to Mike Bloomgren). He gives us an overview of how each program has grown through those changes.
  • Rice Athletic’s 2010s Mount Rushmore — We closed the show with a challenging game, with JP, Carter and Matthew working through their Mount Rushmore for Rice Athletes in the 2010s.
    ** Spoiler Alert**
    The final four: Anthony Rendon, Christian Covington, Erica Ogwumike and Sam McGuffie
  • Honorable Mentions — Listen to the show for a long list of honorable mentions. Rice quarterback Taylor McHargue was on the cusp of the final four, narrowly losing out to McGuffie. Was that the right call? Let us know! Send in your 2010’s Mount Rushmore for Rice Athletics below.

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

The Day coronavirus stopped college sports in America

By

The 2020 college sports calendar was abruptly halted to protect against the coronavirus. Fans across the nation are still processing the sudden shock.

On Tuesday evening USA Today columnist Dan Wolken penned what was, at the time, an incomprehensible edict: cancel the NCAA Tournament. The reaction on social media was far-ranging. Some called him a fearmonger. Others praised his advocacy. But at some level all of us wondered… could he be right?

Less than 48 hours later, Wolken was right. There will be no NCAA Tournament. There won’t even be a Conference USA Basketball Tournament — not a complete one. Players and fans were sent home from Frisco after one day of the scheduled four-day tournament had been completed.

Rice women’s basketball had dressed for the game. They were ready to play through the maelstrom of uncertainty. Then they were sent back to the locker room. The game was over. The season was over. For some, like senior guard and two-time Conference USA Player of the Year Erica Ogwumike, their careers were over.

All within 48 hours.

And it didn’t stop there. Conferences began to indefinitely postpone all spring athletics. Conference USA followed suit, halting the Rice baseball season in its tracks. The remainder of the spring sports were put on hiatus and soon after classes were moved online for the remainder of the semester. The NBA, NHL and MLB all delayed their seasons, too.

Then the NCAA announced that all spring championships were canceled. From March Madness — which was purportedly to be played without fans as a last-ditch, stopgap measure — to the College World Series in the summer. All of it. Gone. Done. Poof.

It should go without saying that the health and safety of student athletes, their families, coaches and all athletic staff personnel, is of the utmost importance. The “why” behind these cancelations is far from unconscionable. But the anguish, the disappointment, is going to last for a long time.

This fallout from these nation-shaking decisions is far from over. Eligibility questions will linger as the country readies itself for a global pandemic with no tournaments to distract them, to salve the harder days. What happens to seniors, some of which had just begun their spring seasons? Will there be waivers and how does that impact rosters for next year? Will the NCAA reach an equitable middle ground?

We don’t know.

Frankly, those three words sum up the last three days more succinctly than anything else. But the sun will rise tomorrow. Life will continue, with or without sports. It will undoubtedly take weeks to wrap our minds around what is happening in our world right now.

Rice Athletics will move forward and so will The Roost. We’re working through some contingency plans when it comes to content. We have some ideas and we’d love to get your input on what sort of things you’d be interested in reading in the coming weeks. Please leave us a comment on the forum or message us on social media and let us know. Today is a hard day, but we’ll make it through.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

2020 Conference USA Basketball Tournament: Men’s and Women’s Previews

By

Both Rice basketball teams qualified for the Conference USA Basketball Tournament in Frisco, Tx. Here’s a preview of the action.

Men’s Tournament 

The Favorite: North Texas

Perhaps the biggest surprise story in college basketball this season, North Texas came out of nowhere to pace Conference USA. The Mean Green are the No. 1 seed with a 14-4 record and at least one head-to-head win over every team in the conference. North Texas is extremely balanced on offense with the No. 1 scoring defense.

The Contender: Louisiana Tech

As good as North Texas has been, they’re far from a shoe in. Louisiana Tech is one of the hottest teams in C-USA. They beat North Texas in bonus play and won five of their last six games, finishing one win shy of the Mean Green for the No. 1 overall seed. Ken Pomery tabs Tech as the favorite to win the title.

The Sleeper: Marshall

It’s hard to see any of the lower seeds stringing together four consecutive wins, but of the middle-tier seeds, Marshall is an intriguing pick. The Thundering Herd are the fourth best scoring offense in C-USA and they rebound well. If they can limit the turnovers, they’re talented to play with anyone in the conference.

The case for Rice

Rice basketball goes as their shooting goes. When Rice shoots 50 percent from the field, they win. The Owls are 10-10 when they make at least half of their shots, and that includes wins over 1-Seed North Texas and first round opponent FIU. If Rice gets hot, they’ll be dangerous. Inconsistency has been their Achilles heel.

Women’s Tournament

The Favorite: Rice

Rice women’s basketball had a 30-game conference winning streak snapped during the season by Old Dominion. The Owls later got revenge, topping the Monarchs in the regular season finale to clinch the outright regular season title. A battle tested team peaking at the right time, it’s hard to bet against Rice.

The Contender: Old Dominion

Old Dominion is on a very short list of programs who were able to prove they belong with the streaking Owls. While Rice relies on two primary pieces, Old Dominion is incredibly balanced. They play tenacious defense and can score from all over the court. If Rice doesn’t win, Old Dominion would be the obvious next team up.

The Sleeper: Charlotte

Charlotte holds the lone distinction of the only team in C-USA to beat both Rice and North Texas. Led by Jade Phillips, the 49ers got off to a slow start before catching fire midseason. She has the talent to take over a tournament. If any team is going to take down both Old Dominion and Rice, Charlotte could be the team to do it.

The case for Rice

The chalk pick to cut down the nets in the preseason. Through a full season, it’s hard to doubt Rice women’s basketball. They’ve had their ups and downs, but their defense and the inspired play of Erica Ogwumike will give them a shot against any opponent, C-USA or otherwise.

Schedule – Men / Women

First Round

Rice Men: Wednesday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m. vs Marshall – ESPN+
Rice Women: Bye

Second Round

Rice Men: TBD
Rice Women: Thursday, March 12 at 11 a.m. vs Marshall/Southern Miss – Watch Stadium

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts