HOUSTON– All-Conference USA setter Meredith Schamun posted a remarkable 51 assists (17.0 assists per set) in leading the Rice Owls volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep over No. 17 LSU in front of 1,063 fans inside Tudor Fieldhouse. Rice’s victory was its ninth in a row and its first over an AVCA top 25 ranked team since Sept. 9, 2006, when the Owls defeated 21st-ranked University of Arizona 3-2 in Tucson, Ariz.
Set scores were 32-30, 25-20, and 25-20. The Owls improve to 23-9 on the season, while the Tigers, league champions of the Southeastern Conference (18-2), fall to 24-6.
The Owls, after earning Conference USA’s NCAA automatic bid last weekend by winning the C-USA tournament title, will learn where it plays its NCAA first round match via ESPNNews on Sunday at 2 p.m. (Central).
Rice was led by Natalie Bogan’s 14 kills and .367 hitting percentage, while Ashleigh McCord had 13 kills. Jessie Boulavsky hit a match-high .500 attack percentage with 10 kills. Freshman Nancy Cole also had 10 kills and a .474 attack percentage. Two-time C-USA Libero of the Year Tracey Lam had a match-high 21 digs, while Jenn McClean had 19 digs to go with 9 kills. Megan White also had 12 digs and Channing Grigsby dug up 8 digs
The Owls had 59 kills and a .338 hitting percentage for the match, while LSU hit .275 with 52 kills. One huge statistical advantage in Rice’s favor was that the Owls dug up 74 digs to LSU’s 57.
Marina Skender led the Tigers with 13 kills and Brittnee Cooper had 11 kills and a .409 attack percentage.
In an exciting first set, Rice rallied from a four-point deficit (18-14) to tie it at 23-23. The Owls then fought off LSU set point at 24-23 and had three set points of their own before winning 32-30. A kill by Nancy Cole gave Rice a 31-30 lead and the ensuing LSU hitting error gave the Owls the win.
Rice had 22 kills and was led Ashleigh McCord’s 7 kills. Natalie Bogan had 5 kills and the aforementioned Cole had 4 kills.
LSU smacked 21 kills and were led by Brittnee Cooper’s 6 kills. The Tigers hit .268 to Rice’s .258.
Rice started set two with an 11-6 lead, but the Tigers battled back to tie it at 13. Rice then outscored LSU 10 to 7 for a 23-20 lead. Back-to-back kills by McCord and Cole gave Rice a 2-0 match lead.
Jenn McClean led the Owl attack with 5 kills in set two, while McCord and Cole had 4 apiece. Rice totaled 20 kills and a sterling .364 hitting percentage. Owl setter Meredith Schamun tallied 17 assists.
LSU hit .244 with 14 kills in set two and was led by Marina Skender’s 6 kills.
Set three saw LSU forge an early 6-3 lead, but Rice hung tough and tied it at 9 on a kill by Bogan. It was 14-14 when the Owls outscored LSU 4 to 1 to take a 19 lead that it would not relinquish. Rice was the beneficiary of two LSU errors and then tallied kills, one by McClean and two by Jessie Boulavsky in the mini-run. At 24-20, a kill by McCord sealed the victory.
Boulavsky and Bogan led Rice in the decisive set with 5 kills each as the Owls totaled 17 kills and a .455 hitting percentage.
LSU was led by Michele Williams’ 4 kills and it totaled 17 kills and a .311 attack percentage.
