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Rice Football: Owls cautious with return to campus plans

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Rice football decision-makers are currently evaluating a plan to return to campus. When that will be and what it will look like remain to be seen.

The future of college football is as uncertain now as its ever been, but a light has seemingly appeared on the horizon. The NCAA opened the door for college athletes to return to campus in June. That decision came after nearly a 3-month hiatus from all university athletic facilities. What that looks like, and when it will occur, vary from conference to conference and school to school.

The SEC opted for a uniform decision. League presidents voted to allow athletes to return to campus starting June 8 for voluntary workouts. Conference USA has left it up to each member institution. The Houston Cougars open their facilities across town for their student-athletes on June 1.

The ramifications of decisions of this kind rose to the forefront quickly. Three Marshall players tested positive for COVID-19 upon their return to campus. Outside of Conference USA, five Alabama players tested positive for the virus after interacting with roughly 50 players who had also returned to campus.

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On May 29, Rice Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard issued an update on the Owls’ decision-making process in that area:

Speaking of return to campus, the NCAA has approved student-athletes to return to their respective campuses on a voluntary basis beginning June 1. We have not yet set a date for our own return to campus and will work with Rice leadership to ensure we can bring back our staff and student-athletes as safely as possible. We remain on track to begin our fall sports seasons on time, but with a rapidly changing and fluid situation, we are also prepared to make calendar adjustments as necessary.

The Owls are going to be cautious about this. The positive test results from other schools add to the reason for concern.

“We have to make the best decisions that we can when we’re required to make them with the information we have on hand knowing that information could change tomorrow,” Karlgaard said following the release. He added that he feels “really good about where we are and our approach.”

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Conference USA: Scheduling changes coming soon

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Conference USA athletics scheduling changes are on their way with modifications to the upcoming fall sports calendar expected soon.

The extended offseason has been a busy one for Conference USA and its member institutions and conversations among league officials and athletic directors about the structure of future schedules have been at the forefront.

“I don’t think there’s any question that our geographic stretch is a challenge for us,” Rice Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard said. “Pre-pandemic it was something that we made work. I think post-pandemic it’s something that we are really looking closely at.”

Ideas have been tossed around from sources inside and outside of Conference USA. Basketball is expected to end bonus play and could consider moving to a divisional structure to reduce travel. Olympics sports, in particular, are taking a hard look at more regionalized scheduling.

Administrators are also keeping an eye on what’s happening across the nation. The MAC cut postseason tournaments in several sports. Those changes reflect the historical Ivy League model, which traditionally awarded regular-season champions with any relevant postseason bids.

What will those changes look like? Karlgaard said the scope was far-reaching. “All of that is on the table for us to evaluate going forward.”

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This is not smoke and mirrors. Karlgaard has already been in discussion with Athletic Directors at schools in close geographic proximity. “They’re all interested [in regionalized scheduling],” he said. “What form and shape that takes, I think, is going to take longer for us to hash out.”

Long term scheduling adjustments will take time to play out, but changes to the upcoming seasons are imminent. Karlgaard indicated that he expects Conference USA to address fall scheduling as soon as this week, particularly with athletes now allowed to return to campus at several member schools. Rice had not yet set a timetable for the return of their own student-athletes.

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Rice Volleyball: Raising the bar for 2020 and beyond

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Rice Volleyball won its first NCAA Tournament match in school history in 2019. How will the Owls’ measure future success in light of that achievement?

How do you improve on the best season you’ve ever had? That’s the question hanging over Rice Volleyball this offseason. The Owls will lose several key pieces and ask new ones to help carry the load. The objective will always be to win, but the standard has been set higher than it’s ever been before.

Coach Genny Volpe has made the program’s expectations crystal clear.

“Getting to the NCAA Tournament is our expectation, and its been our expectation to continue to elevate and advance in the tournament, but for me, and more importantly, are we maximizing our potential? Are we improving when we get on the court daily? Because then all of those things fall into place.

In the midst of a world that focuses all too often on the end result, Volpe remains committed to the journey. Rather than use terms like optimist or realist, Volpe calls herself “a real process-oriented type of person.”

That mindset is apropos to the culture of Rice Athletics and it makes a lot of sense. It takes so many things to go right to reach the pinnacle of any endeavor. There can only be one national champion every year. Reaching that apex takes effort and focus, but it also takes a little bit of luck.

Volpe knows that she can train consistency and focus. If she does that, the Owls will be set up to capitalize on any breaks that do come her way. And they’ll be better prepared to navigate the obstacles that will inevitably appear as well.

Seasons are measured in wins and losses, but that’s not the metric Volpe deems most vital. “Are we maximizing our potential?” is the question that runs through her head over and over again.

Potential is much more difficult to quantify. It can’t be measured by a number, rather calculated through less tangible facets: culture, chemistry, buy-in and others.

Seamlessly integrating newcomers into a program that has already found a productive rhythm is a challenge, but one that will prove vital toward the Owls’ success on the court next fall. Volpe’s messaging is consistent in that arena as well. “Find what your role is, no matter how big or how small, and embrace it for the good of the team.” Compiling those roles into offensive and defensive strategies is the starting point for what Rice hopes will be another year of record-setting success.

“It’s going to take work. There’s no question we lost a lot of pieces to that puzzle,” Volpe said. But there was no hesitation in her voice. The talent to win exists on the roster. Her job is to assemble the pieces, something she’s excelled at in her decade-plus tenure at Rice.

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From good to great, the continued ascent of Rice Volleyball’s Nicole Lennon

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Rice Volleyball had playmakers from top to bottom of their roster, making incredible Nicole Lennon’s 2019 season that much more impressive.

There have been few seasons in Rice volleyball history as dominant as Nicole Lennon’s 2019 campaign. The Preseason C-USA Player of the Year, Lennon took home seven of 12 C-USA Offensive Player of the Week Honors. She was a first-team All C-USA selection, a finalist for Houston Sports Collegiate Player of the Year and the team MVP.

Lennon tallied her 1,000th career dig this season and led C-USA in total kills (505). She had a season-high 32-kills against Stephen F Austin and 23 in the Owls’ upset over No. 3 Texas. She always delivered in the biggest moments.

The list of accomplishments is mounting. She already belongs on the shortlist of best Rice athletes of the decade. But the best could still be yet to come. At least, that’s what coach Genny Volpe sees when she watches how Lennon works and prepares off the court.

“Her volleyball IQ keeps getting higher and higher,” Volpe said. “Every year she continues to make gains in efficiency.”

The numbers bear out Volpe’s observation. Since her freshman season in 2017, Lennon has improved her hitting percentage by 129 percentage points (.159 to .288). Her kill count has risen from by 80 (425 to 505) and her points are up 75.5 (476.5 to 552).

Lennon’s sophomore stats were better than her freshman stats. She made another jump from sophomore year to junior year. If she maintains that trajectory, we might get to witness an even better version of Lennon in 2020. That’s an incredible notion to behold.

Lennon boasts the rare combination of elite athleticism and a relentless pursuit of excellence. “She’s somebody who doesn’t ever had a bad practice,” Volpe remarked. Adding that on Lennon’s self assessed “bad days” the outside hitter will stay late, pushing herself to be the best version of herself that she can be.

It’s that level of drive, of mental focus, that makes Lennon so dominant. Every match has ups and downs. Mistakes are made, even by players as consistent as Lennon. It’s those who have the mental fortitude and the focus to put look past those mistakes and move forward that are able to ascend from good to great.

Lennon was great last season. Watching her take the next step in 202o is going to special.

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Rice Volleyball: Owls seek to continue building from within

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Rice volleyball will retool their roster as they enter the 2020 season, supplementing a talented returning roster with key additions and elevating some players into bigger roles.

The standard is high at South Main. That’s to be expected on the heels of three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Getting to the tournament is one thing, returning year after year is another. That’s the next net Rice volleyball hopes to leap.

To stretch their streak to a fourth consecutive NCAA spot, the Owls are going to have to reload on the fly. The roster had a healthy mix of younger and more veteran players, but several of those key building blocks will be out of eligibility after this year. Rice must replace those seniors effectively to maintain their current trajectory.

Thankfully the Owls aren’t starting from scratch. Head coach Genny Volpe has been keeping tabs on the up-and-coming talent during the season and into the spring. Among those weren’t part of the usual starting contingent, Ellie Bichelmeyer and Carly Graham each drew specific praise from Volpe.

Bichelmeyer’s development was evident throughout the season and carried over into spring practices. “I see her really growing in confidence,” Volpe said, “She showed significant growth… even from the beginning of the season to the end of the season.”

Even coming off the bench, Bichelmeyer made her mark. She had 188 points last year, fourth most on the team. Her 1.89 kills per set trailed only Nicole Lennon and Anota Adekunle, both of which were named to the Conference USA First Team last season.

Carly Graham also caught Volpe’s eye. She and senior Adria Martinez ran the offense together last season. With Martinez departing, Graham was left as the only setter in the gym this spring. “To see her really step up as a leader and run the show all by herself has been really exciting. I see big things for her ahead,” Volpe said.

And that doesn’t account for an exciting new wave of talent that hasn’t yet arrived on campus. The 2020 Rice Volleyball signing class is filled with players who have won at every level of competition in which they’ve participated. “They don’t really know how to lose,” Volpe remarked. She hopes to keep that winning tradition alive when the freshman get their feet wet this fall. Rice has done a lot of winning in recent years and they’ve no intention to stop now.

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