No. 21 Rice Defeats Golden Eagles in Straight Sets

Friday, October 11

Houston, Texas

6 p.m. CT

Southern Miss

1-17, 0-4

Rice

15-1, 4-0

Southern Miss

Rice

No. 21 Rice Defeats Golden Eagles in Straight Sets

10/11/2019 8:03:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

HOUSTON, Texas - Inside Tudor Fieldhouse against No. 21 Rice (15-1, 4-0 C-USA), Southern Miss (1-17, 0-4 C-USA) fell in straight sets (13-25, 14-25, 21-25) to its first ranked opponent of the season. And for the second consecutive match, freshman Liana Guillemaud paced the Golden Eagles with a team-high 10 kills.

Guillemaud and the Golden Eagles fell behind early in the first set after Rice used an 8-1 run to open a 13-7 lead. The Golden Eagles sprinkled in points throughout the rest of the set, but Rice was able to close the set on a 4-0 run. The Rice momentum carried into the second set where it jumped to a 12-8 lead out of the gate. The Owls utilized another 8-1 to put the set out of reach from Southern Miss.

The third set appeared to be headed in the same direction as the first two, but the Golden Eagles bounced back from a 10-point deficit to quiet the Tudor Fieldhouse crowd. Back-to-back service aces by Kellie Garraway made it a five-point game and then a Kinsley Hanback kill -- mixed with two Rice attack errors -- put the Golden Eagles down by three while facing set point. However, the Owls held on to extend their winning streak to six games.

Guillemaud, who returned to her home state of Texas for the first time in her young career, added two digs and a block to go along with her 10 kills. Fellow Texas native Madison Lawler finished with a game-high 17 digs and one assist. Kess Krutsinger, Ashley Berry, and Hanback all recorded four kills. Junior setter Piper Matsumoto dished out a game-high 26 assists, five digs, and two kills.

Next Up

Southern Miss will head to Denton for a rematch against North Texas on Sunday. The 1 p.m. contest comes nine days after the Mean Green swept the Golden Eagles in Hattiesburg.