Volleyball Owls Host UAB and Memphis

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 6, 2008) The Rice Owls volleyball match vs, UAB on Friday, Nov. 7, is now at 4 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. The time change was necessary to avoid a conflict with the Grand Opening of Tudor Fieldhouse event that is scheduled later that same evening.

On Sunday, the Owls will host Memphis at 1 p.m. Both matches take place in Fox Gymnasium.

VB RPI
The Rice Owls currently sport an NCAA RPI of 39 out of 323 schools that sponsor NCAA Division I volleyball. Ahead of the Owls in C-USA are Tulane (13th) and UAB (27th).

Recently
Rice won 3-2 at Tulsa and 3-1 at SMU this past weekend. Jessica Holderness led the Owls with 36 kills on the weekend.

Head Coach
Rice head coach Genny Volpe sports a school and overall coaching mark of 86-58 (5 years). She led the Owls to their first-ever NCAA appearance in 2004.

Currently
The Owls have won three matches in a row and nine of their last 10.

Setter of the Week
Meredith Schamun has been selected as the Conference USA Setter of the Week for Nov. 3. In leading Rice to two road victories, Schamun, a sophomore, dished out 111 assists and averaged 12.33 APS as the Owls defeated Tulsa (3-2) and SMU (3-1). She had 52 assists at Tulsa and followed that up with 59 assists and 13 digs at SMU as the Owls averaged 15.44 kills on the weekend. Schamun also accounted for 19 digs (2.11 DPS), two block assists and 10 points. This is her second weekly honor.

National Ranks
Rice setter Meredith Schamun ranks first in C-USA and eighth nationally in assists per set in this week's NCAA rankings. The sophomore from Murrieta, Calif., averages a C-USA-best 11.60 per set.

Sophomore libéro Tracey Lam ranks 29th in the nation in digs per set, accounting for a C-USA-best 4.92 per outing with 428 digs.

As a team, Rice ranks fifth in the NCAA in assists (13.60), fifth in kills (14.59), 18th in digs (16.94) and 26th in hitting efficiency (.262).

Balanced Attack
The Owls have four athletes that have accumulated over 200 kills this season. They are led by seniors Karyn Morgan with 272 (3.28) and Jessica Holderness with 255 (2.97). Junior Natalie Bogan has 234 kills (2.79) and freshman Ashleigh McCord has made her presence felt with 238 kills (2.83).

Attack Pct.
Natalie Bogan leads Rice with a .350 attack percentage and sophomore Caroline Gill is at .315 and Ashleigh McCord is hitting at .302.

Streakin'
Tracey Lam has now reached double-digit digs in each of her last 31 matches.

MilestonesRice University volleyball player Karyn Mogan (Bellaire, Texas) has joined the school's exclusive 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs club. Morgan, a senior, becomes the sixth member of the group. Other Owls that have accomplished that feat as well are Rebeca Pazo (2001-04, 1,969 kills, 1,314 digs), Sammy Waldron (1992-95, 1,830 kills, 1,068 digs), Karolina Zelinka (1996-00, 1,508 kills, 1,217 digs), Leigh Leman (1998-02, 1,233 kills, 1,394 digs), Karyn Morgan (2005-08, 1,263 kills, 1,136 digs), Diane Kuhlman (1986-89, 1,086 kills, 1,130 digs).

Morgan's 1,263 kills ranks eighth all-time at Rice, while her 1,136 digs is sixth-best.

Other milestones on the horizon for Rice volleyball include senior Jessica Holderness with 908 career kills and 903 career digs and sophomore Tracey Lam with career 927 digs. Junior Natalie Bogan has 878 career kills. Lam's 428 digs ranks fourth-best in a season at Rice.

Sophomore setter Meredith Schamun has accumulated 2,315 assists in only two seasons to rank sixth in school history.

Opponents
Rice leads the overall series 5-3 over UAB and is 0-3 vs. Memphis. UAB is ranked first in Conference USA with a 12-1 league record and is 22-3 overall. Memphis is fourth in C-USA, just behind Rice, with an 8-5 record is 17-10 overall

Looking Forward
The Owls play at Houston to end C-USA play on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.