Owls volleyball open conference play Sept. 26

The 10-4 Rice Owls volleyball team will open Conference USA (C-USA) play Sept. 26, when it starts a three-game road trip at Southern Miss.

The team closed preconference play Sept. 20 after seeing its seven-game win streak snapped the day before by Louisville. The Owls bounced back with a solid 3-1 (25-16, 26-24, 23-25, 25-20) victory over the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks in the Rice Invitational II finale at Tudor Fieldhouse Saturday.

“First and foremost, we want to reach our potential,” said Owls head volleyball coach Genny Volpe. “We want to execute to the best ability every time we go on the court. I think this team has something special, and they know they’re destined to do something really special this year, so our goals are really high.”

In a C-USA coaches’ preseason poll, the Owls were picked to finish third in the conference, and sophomore Sara Blasier was selected Preseason All-C-USA.

The Owls closed the 2013 season strong at Tudor Fieldhouse, winning five of their last six home matches.

Tickets for upcoming matches can be ordered online or by calling the Rice ticket office at 713-522-OWLS (6957).

Fans can follow the Owls volleyball team all season long via riceowls.com, on Twitter at @OwlsVB and on the Athletics Facebook page.

–Kenny Bybee contributed to this story.