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The Rice Thresher
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by Chris Larson thresher editorial staff
The Owls hope that last year's disaster was merely a bump on the road to building a consistently successful program. The way they see it, getting past the bump has made them stronger and more prepared for what lies ahead. "Undergoing the whole process gave them tougher skin," head coach Julio Morales said. "They didn't get on each other and [they] stuck it out. They underwent hard times, which is kind of a motivator for them. "I can feel their confidence. They'll be going out with a vengeance. They did very well in the spring and got to know what they should be playing like." Goals were high at the start of the '99 season, as the Owls returned four starters from the best team in school history. But things went sour from the start, when junior setter Nil Kalagoglu and senior outside hitter Karolina Zelinka both suffered season-ending injuries. What was once an experienced squad suddenly became a team relying mainly on freshmen and sophomores unexpectedly thrust into starting roles. The Owls paid the price, stumbling to a Western Athletic Conference-worst 2-12 mark in conference play. "We suffered through a disheartening season, but we did a lot of good things," Morales said. "We had a lot of good individual performances." One positive was the vital experience many of the younger Owls gained while filling in for the injured players. Three Owls placed in the top six in the WAC in digs, and sophomore middle blocker Briana Cook finished second in the conference in blocks. Now, upon the return of Zelinka and Kalagoglu, the Owls look forward to fielding a mature, experienced team. "The remainder of the team left after the injuries gained a lot of experience the hard way," Morales said. "[Zelinka and Kalagoglu's] return only makes it that much better. It's icing on the cake." Offensively, Rice plans to look to Zelinka, whose 1,010 kills place her eighth all-time at Rice, as its main option at outside hitter. Opposite her will be junior Leigh Leman. Kalagoglu will set, opposite senior outside hitter Klara Zelinka, Karolina's younger sister. Cook will be one middle blocker, and the other middle blocker spot will be filled by junior Courtney Smith and sophomore Elizabeth Davenport Pollock. "We're really working on the team offense," Morales said. "We're back on working order as a team unit. We've had good individual offense, but now we have to work as a team." Defensively, the Owls return a solid unit. Rice led the WAC in digs last year and registered the second-most blocks. Klara Zelinka led the Owls with 365 digs last year, third most in a season in Rice history. "We've been a pretty good defensive team in both blocking and court defense," Morales said. "We just have to learn how to translate that to transition offense, linking offense and defense together." In addition, three freshmen join the squad. Outside hitters Rebekah Neal, Allison Donohue and Rhonda Sigman hope to contribute to the team as reserves. Morales said he and his staff are pleased with the schedule Rice will face this year. In many ways, the Owls have two separate schedules - one non-conference schedule and one WAC schedule. With some exceptions, each has games against weaker teams at the beginning and leads up to games against some of the toughest opponents in the country. The Owls open the year with three tournaments. One of those is this weekend's Rice Volleyball Tournament at Autry Court, which features the University of North Texas, the University of Texas-Pan American and Louisiana Tech University. In the tourney finale, however, Rice takes on nationally ranked Baylor University in a match that should give the coaching staff an indication of where the team is and where it needs to be. The Owls end the non-conference schedule with a tough tournament at nationally ranked University of Wisconsin, and the conference slate builds up to showdowns against fifth-ranked University of Hawaii. "We want to be among the first three teams in conference and make the NCAA tournament," Morales said. "To meet those goals, we have to attain others along the way, like beating Baylor and the teams we need to beat in conference." Morales says that conference matches against San Jose State University, Fresno State University and conference newcomer University of Nevada will be pivotal in this year's WAC race. He expects those three teams, along with his Owls, to compete for the second spot behind powerhouse Hawaii. The preseason WAC coaches poll tabbed the Owls to finish fifth. But, with the return of experienced players like Kalagoglu and Karolina Zelinka and a remaining core with a year's worth of sharpening experience, the Owls are confident that they're poised to make waves in the conference title race this year. "We have the talent," Karolina Zelinka said. "At this point, it's all mental. We need the minds to do it. It's all about discipline."
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