Spring Break
Volleyball earns first-round bye for C-USA tournament
Paul Fitzgerald
Issue date: 11/21/08 Section: Sports
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The loss to Houston dropped Rice to third in the final Conference USA standings, meaning the Owls will have the third seed in the upcoming C-USA Tournament. The tournament began Thursday and concludes with the final on Sunday in Memphis, Tenn. Rice does not play on the tournament's opening day due to their place in the top four of the C-USA standings. Head coach Genny Volpe thought the bye would be extremely beneficial to the team's tournament chances.
"There's a lot to be said about being able to scout the University of Memphis and the University of Texas-El Paso," Volpe said. "It's the first time this program has had a bye in the C-USA Tournament, and it's definitely beneficial."
Instead, the Owls open the tournament on Friday at 7 p.m. against the winner of Thursday's match between sixth-seeded Memphis and eleventh-seeded UTEP. Rice went a combined 3-0 against Memphis and UTEP during the regular season, losing a total of one set in the three matches.
A win on Friday by Rice would put them in the semifinals on Saturday at 4 p.m. Another win would put the Owls in the tournament final, which takes place on Sunday at 2 p.m. Sunday's final will be televised by the CBS College Sports Network. Rice has not won the C-USA Tournament since joining the league in 2004.
The Owls hoped to enter the tournament on a six-game win streak, but UH had other ideas for Rice, dropping the Owls in three sets. UH opened the first set on a 7-2 run, but the Owls responded by closing the deficit to 10-8 on a team block by sophomore setter Meredith Schamun and sophomore middle blocker Caroline Gill. Rice eventually tied the score at 16 on a kill by Schamun, but they would never take the lead. UH finished the set on a 9-1 run, winning the first set 25-17.
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