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The Rice Thresher
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by Chris Larson thresher editorial staff A dejected Rice volleyball squad left Autry Court Tuesday night after losing yet another match to a team they know they should have beaten. "It's just really frustrating and disappointing," senior outside hitter Karolina Zelinka said. "It's not the way I wanted to finish senior year." Stephen F. Austin State University handed the Owls their ninth straight loss - a school record - on Tuesday when Rice failed to close out a win after capturing games one and three. The loss came on the heels of another five-game loss Saturday at the University of Texas at El Paso. The Miners sit in the cellar of the Western Athletic Conference and lost to the Owls Sept. 29. "We're very inconsistent," Zelinka said. "It's obvious that we're better than a lot of the teams we lose to. We beat ourselves. It's nothing the other team does." It's not as if Rice doesn't have talent. Though the Owls have not won in over four weeks, the span has seen spurts of brilliance. They hit a very respectable .196 against top-ranked University of Hawaii, and the Owls claimed a 15-4 win in game two last week against a University of Houston team that has made nine straight appearances in the NCAA tournament. But surrounding the bright spots has been a sea of struggles of virtually every kind. There have been moments of lost focus, lazy passing and miscommunication. There have been adjustment pains on both the setting and hitting ends as the Owls attempt to adapt to the loss of setter Nil Kalagoglu, who had been the Owls' only setter seeing significant playing time all season. "We're playing hot and cold, and we're not finishing games," junior outside hitter Leigh Leman said. "At times, I feel like we're the best team around, but then we let up and the other team capitalizes on it." The Owls dominated the first game against SFA as they hit .405 with 18 kills and just three errors. Game two gave Rice the opportunity to take control of the match with a 14-12 lead, but hitting errors allowed the Ladyjacks to rally and take the game. "We let up," Leman said. "In the first game, we didn't make mistakes. In the second game, we were pushing too hard and hitting out." After splitting the next two games, SFA jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fifth game after Rice's weak passing prevented any good hitting looks and Rice was never able to recover. After winning their first three matches that were extended to five games, the Owls have gone 1-4 in matches that have gone the distance. This weekend presents a chance for the Owls to redeem themselves as they make the trek to California to face Fresno State University tonight and San Jose State University tomorrow. While one or two wins would not magically catapult the Owls to the top half of the standings, they would go a long way toward rebuilding the confidence and morale of a team mired in frustration. "We've got a long road trip coming up," Leman said. "We have to keep trying, keep fighting, until we learn how to win."
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