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The Rice Thresher
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by Chris Larson thresher editorial staff The volleyball team says that all signs point to turning the corner and ending its current losing streak. It just hasn't happened yet. The Owls suffered two more losses in the past week, both of them four-game losses. Saturday the Owls lost to the University of Tulsa, while crosstown rival University of Houston handed the Owls their seventh consecutive loss Wednesday night. The losses drop the Owls to 14-12 on the year, 3-7 in conference play. Wednesday, Rice was unable to keep up with a solid Cougar squad which has qualified for nine straight NCAA tournaments and currently stands at 18-5 record on the season. While the loss against the Cougars could perhaps have been anticipated, Rice's loss to Tulsa, a team they defeated Sept. 23 at Autry Court, stung badly. "I'm still trying to figure it out," head coach Julio Morales said after the Tulsa loss. "We practiced well all week and the morning of the match. The mood was good during the trip. But when we came out to play, we were very sluggish and had very little intensity. We just didn't get going." The match was a case of two teams headed in opposite directions, as Tulsa had played perhaps its most complete game of the season the previous night in a three-game sweep of the University of Texas at El Paso. "Tulsa came out playing hard," junior setter/outside hitter Leigh Leman said. "I felt like we were definitely the stronger, more powerful team, but they kept fighting back and were never letting up. We let up on some points, and they capitalized." Rice, on the other hand, was trying to regroup after losing five straight matches and switching to a two-setter offensive approach. "We don't have the confidence when we go on the court that we had at one time this season," Leman said. "When we get that confidence, we'll go out and win." As has been the case in several matches this season, the Owls suffered from inconsistent hitting. Leman broke through for 17 kills and senior outside hitter Karolina Zelinka added 15 kills, but no other Owl managed more than five kills. "We didn't hit at the level we need to to win matches," Morales said. "Our hitting's been erratic since the start of the conference season." A key difference from the teams' last meeting was that Tulsa effectively shut down Rice's middle attack. Sophomore middle blockers Briana Cook and Elizabeth Davenport Pollock dominated in Rice's win against Tulsa, contributing 28 kills between them, but the duo managed only 10 on Saturday to go along with nine errors. Rice's defense, however, continued its solid play. Cook and junior middle blocker Courtney Smith led the Owls with three blocks each as the Owls outblocked Tulsa 14-10. Rice currently leads the WAC in both team blocks (3.22 per game) and team digs (17.51 per game). "The defense overall has been really good," Cook said. "We're digging balls and blocking balls, but the problem comes when we try to put the ball down offensively." Leman, however, continued her strong offensive play. In addition to leading the Owls with 23 assists against Tulsa, her 17 kills combined with just three errors in 38 attempts gave her a hitting percentage of .368. Leman hit .324 Oct. 21 against top-ranked University of Hawaii. "She's doing an excellent job," Morales said. "She's been one of our most consistent players during the season. She never quits, and she plays with a lot of intensity and a lot of passion. She hit over .300 against Tulsa and over .300 against Hawaii. When you put games like that together, it means you can really hit." Although the new offensive arrangement is by no means perfect, the players remain optimistic that they are making progress. "Things are going better," Leman said. "Trying to connect and find a chemistry with all the different hitters is challenging, but we're learning a lot as we're going." The Owls get a chance to rebound this weekend when they face a struggling UTEP squad tomorrow in El Paso. The Miners sit at the bottom of the WAC standings and have lost eight of their last nine matches. The Owls hope a win against UTEP will help spark a series of wins to conclude the season. "All the elements are there," Morales said. "I'm confident that if the players come into matches to play their hearts out, play with more passion, make a commitment and translate that into action, we can beat every team we're playing the next few weeks, except for maybe Hawaii."
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