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The Rice Thresher
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by Chris Larson thresher editorial staff As the Western Athletic Conference season approaches its halfway point, this weekend could help establish Rice's volleyball team as a legitimate WAC power - or it could reduce the Owls to an also-ran. The Owls travel to the Dallas-Fort Worth area this weekend to face Southern Methodist University tonight and Texas Christian University tomorrow night. Two wins would bring the Owls to 5-2, which would likely place them squarely in the upper division of the conference. A split or two losses, however, would relegate Rice to the middle of the pack, especially since, after this weekend, Rice will be the only WAC team not to have faced second-ranked, undefeated University of Hawaii. "We need to beat these teams to stay in the hunt for the WAC race and have a shot at qualifying for the NCAA tournament," head coach Julio Morales said. And they must beat these teams on the road, something that Morales said the Owls aren't overly concerned about. His Owls are 3-2 this season on the road. "Usually, playing on the road in volleyball doesn't make that much of a difference unless it's at a very rowdy place," Morales said. "We've always done pretty well on the road. Even last year, which was our worst year, we played well on the road." Last year, the Owls were just 1-10 at home but managed four road wins. TCU enters the game with a 10-9 record overall and a 2-2 mark in WAC play. After opening the conference season with a home win against SMU and a win at the University of Tulsa, the Horned Frogs have dropped their last two conference matches. TCU fell in four games at the University of Nevada, which swept the Owls Sept. 21, and lost in three games to Hawaii, which has easily swept every WAC opponent it has faced so far. "TCU's a very difficult team to play," Morales said. "They're scrappy, and they do crazy things. We're going to need to put it to them from the start of the match." After a breakthrough season last year, SMU appears to have taken a couple steps backward. Last year, they came in fourth place in the WAC and went 20-13, marking their first winning season in school history. After beginning this season with an 8-2 record against a relatively weak schedule, the Mustangs have dropped five of their last six, including their first four WAC games. "They've had some tough times lately," Morales said. "They'll come out ready to play - we have to come out ready too." Home matches with Nevada and Hawaii loom next weekend. If the Owls can get through the two road games this weekend, they'll have the chance to shake things up at the top of the conference standings - in the friendly confines of Autry Court. But to have that opportunity, they'll have to keep up their blocking - Rice currently ranks sixth in the nation in blocks per game - and develop a more consistent hitting attack. "The problem is that our hitting has been inconsistent," Morales said. "If they can hit a good ball and put the ball down, we'll be fine."
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