Challenging rivals await Rice volleyball

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by Tony Tran

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Roon, a sophomore, tore the anterior cruciate ligaments of her left knee during Wednesday night's pre-game warm-ups. She is scheduled for surgery on Sunday, and is expected to miss the rest of the season.

Tonight the team battles the University of Oklahoma and tomorrow morning it will attempt to topple Long Beach State University, the number- one team in the nation.

The women wrap up the tournament on Saturday afternoon when they face San Diego State University.

"The competition is going to be pretty stiff," said freshman swing hitter Rebecca Chase. "We really are excited to see how we're going to do against these big guns."

Head Coach Henry Chen seemed confident of Rice's chances against these three juggernauts.

"We need to be playing at a high level of competition to do well in this tournament, and we're capable of doing that," he said.

Senior Jessica Williams added, "We have a pretty tricky offense that we think is unstoppable."

Chen is optimistic about Rice's chances against Oklahoma.

"We're going to match up well with Oklahoma because they are a big team which goes for the block, whereas we are a team who will try to out-quick our opponents," he said.

To beat Oklahoma, Rice will need to be aggressive and to minimize the blockers.

Defeating the number-one team in the country, however, will be a much more arduous task.

Long Beach State's strengths lie in its great ball control offense, which is high-paced and high-tempo. Rice's chances for the upset lie in the team's ability to serve well and to get everyone involved in the offense.

"The key for us is just to stay focused and keep our confidence levels high. We have to believe in ourselves and remain fearless," Williams said.

The team is a little unsure about how to approach San Diego State, a perennially strong team which lost several players from last year.

"We're going to play as hard as we can and that's all we can hope for," Case said. "You can learn a lot from losing as long as you do it constructively."

Chen defined a more aggressive strategy for the upcoming games.

"Every time we go on the court is an opportunity to knock someone else down," he said.

Rice made their debut Wednesday at Autry Court against Stephen F. Austin University. The Owls took care of the Lumberjacks, winning in straight sets, 15-13, 15-12, 15-11.

Sammy Waldron led the team with 16 kills and seven digs while freshman Rebecca Case played a tremendous game with eight kills and 20 digs.

Jessica Williams, who is expected to start at setter for the rest of the season, had 29 assists. The Lumberjacks were led by Diane Wismann who had 10 kills and 16 digs.

Quick hitter Darcy Cruikshank, who had a strong overall game with three kills, seven digs and three block-assists, was enthusiastic about the game.

"The best part about how we played was that we got a chance to work on the swing offense. We went all out and didn't give in." she said.

Chen was happy about the obstacles that the team had to overcome to get the victory.

"The hustle was unbelievable, and we have the transition game down really well," said Chen. "We showed a lot of composure and played a fearless, aggressive game."

This item appeared in the Sports section of the September 3, 1993 issue.

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