Southern Miss and No. 21 Rice Set to Collide in Houston

Friday, October 11

Houston, Texas

6 p.m. CT

Southern Miss

Rice

Photo by: Joe Harper

Southern Miss and No. 21 Rice Set to Collide in Houston

10/10/2019 3:51:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Match Notes C-USA TV Stream SIDEARM Live Stats

Live Stats
Live Stream

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – After enjoying a three-game homestand at Reed Green Coliseum, Southern Miss (1-16, 0-3 C-USA) heads to Texas for a pair of Conference USA matches. The trip starts at Tudor Fieldhouse on Friday night against No. 21 Rice (14-1, 3-0 C-USA) at 6 p.m.

The Last Time Out
In front of the fifth-largest crowd in program history on Tuesday night, the Golden Eagles fell in straight sets to South Alabama (12-6, 3-1). Despite the loss, freshman Liana Guillemaud continued to shine en route to smacking 11 kills. The Texas native now has 39 kills in her last three matches after recording only 31 kills in her first eight matches.

Junior transfer Kaile Tuisamatatele contributed a career-high seven kills and three digs, while fellow junior transfer Piper Matsumoto dished out 26 assists, six digs, and two kills. Madison Lawler, another Southern Miss junior, racked up a game-high 17 digs. Lawler has recorded 94 digs over her last five games. Freshman Kess Krutsinger added three blocks to her team-leading 31 total blocks.

Match Notes

The last meeting between the two schools came in 2018, a 3-2 win by the Owls. In that contest, the Owl had to come from behind to knock off the Golden Eagles. Madison Lawler and Kellie Garraway combined for 29 digs in that match. Ashley Berry went for 11 kills and four blocks.
In her last three games, freshman Liana Guillemaud has exploded for 39 kills, including a career-high 15 against Alabama State last week. The offensive onslaught comes after Guillemaud has just 31 kills in her first eight matches.
Rice is the first ranked opponent Southern Miss has played since facing No. 25 Alabama last season in Tuscaloosa.

Scouting Rice
With six All-Conference USA Players, the reigning Conference-USA Player of the Year, and the reigning Conference-USA Coach of the Year returning, Rice has worked its way up to a No. 21 ranking in the AVCA Polls. The Owls have lost just one game this season, a five-setter to Stephen F. Austin. Rice holds notable wins against then-No. 3 Texas, Texas State, and (RV) UCF.

Nicole Lennon, the aforementioned C-USA Player of the Year, leads the Owls with 263 kills. Lennon has achieved the 20-plus kill mark five times this season, including 32 against Stephen F. Austin. Rice setters Adria Martinez and Carly Graham have combined for 595 assists, highlighted by Martinez's 50 assists against Stephen F. Austin. Defensively, Lee Ann Cunningham has a team-high 247 digs and Grace Morgan has a team-high 50 blocks.

All-Time Series
Rice leads the all-time series, 15-7. The Golden Eagles last defeated the Owls in 2017 in a five-set thriller at Reed Green Coliseum. Rice took the 2018 contest in five sets after the Golden Eagles came from behind to nearly upset the eventual C-USA Champions.

In that contest, Madison Lawler and Kellie Garraway combined for 29 digs. Senior Ashley Berry went for 11 kills and four blocks in that match.

Match Info
Friday's contest will start at 6 p.m. Visit southernmiss.com for live stream and live stat links.

For all of the latest Southern Miss volleyball news, fans can follow the official Southern Miss volleyball Twitter account (@SouthernMissVB), Instagram account (@southernmissvb) and Facebook account (Southern Miss Volleyball).

Single-game and season tickets are on sale via SouthernMissTickets.com, calling 1-800-844-TICK, or visiting the Pat Ferlise Center during normal business hours.