The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, September 25, 1987 Page: 19 of 24
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THRESHER Sports Friday, September 25.1987 15
Volleyballers truly dazzling in early action
by Jim Humes
Awesome: a modifier and yet so
much more. It just happens to be the
perfect description of the Rice Vol-
leyballers, who continued their win-
ning ways last weekend. Despite
losing their first match of the season
to Notre Dame at the 14th Annual
Eastern Kentucky Invitational, the
Owls are playing impressive ball.
Let's go ahead and get through the
loss. In the course of droppong their
first match of the season in the finals
of the tournament, Rice managed to
set four school records. In the 2 1/2
hour match, Rice set new marks in
assists, attempted assists, attempted
kills, and total kills.
The match was a see-saw battle
with Rice winning the first and third
games 15-7 and 15-10, and the Fight-
ing Irish winning the second, fourth,
and finally fifth games 15-11, 15-6,
and 15-7. While it was their most
intense match of the season, the Owls
do not consider it a setback as it pro-
vided valuable experience for the
team.
Individual standouts of the game
included the giving Lara Epperson
with 72 assists, the agrarian Diane
Kuhlman with 25 digs, bellicose
Anna Epperson killing 24, Susan
"Stonewall" Zakrewski with 2 solo
blocks and three assists, and the
nimble-leaping Debbie Haley and
Tricia Bo wen who each had seven
block assists.
In the first game of the tournament,
Rice humiliated the University of
Akron as they swept them 15-2,15-8,
and 15-1; the total points of Akronnot
nearing the points of Rice in any
single game. Lara Epperson set an
impressive 62%, and Haley and
Bowen each had three aces apiece as
Rice showed their total, complete,
and awesome domination of their foe.
Cincinnati got a few more points,
but they never managed a game as the
Owls again showed little mercy in
their 15-11, 15-6, and 16-14 spank-
ing. Kuhlman tallied 16 kills in the
game with Anna Epperson right be-
hind with 15. Lara Epperson set 45
balls and Zakrewski served three aces
to complement the offensive attack.
Defensively, Lara and Beth Quinn
each had six digs, and Bowen soloed
on two blocks.
William and Mary may have been
nice folks, but their volleyball team
didn't command the respect of roy-
alty as Rice whomped on them in the
semi-final game, 15-6,15-13, and 15-
10. Tricia Bowen went nuts on the net
with two solo blocks and three assists.
And Anna Epperson, Diane
Kuhlman,and Debbie Haley all got
gold stars for all-around play with 12
kills and 11 digs, 10 kills and 13 digs
, and 11 kills and 11 digs respectively.
With the Owls' loss in the final,
they dispelled the myth that they were
more than human and too good for the
collegiate ranks, and ended their
winning streak at 11 (which just so
happens to be a school record). Rice
had two players named to the all-
tournament team for their outstanding
play. Freshman middle blocker Tri-
cia Bowen and junior setter Lara
Epperson were named to the six-
player team. But the winning way has
been the teamwork that this squad
exhibits. The players have experi-
ence working together, which has re-
sulted in a cornucopia of lopsided vic-
tories.
Last Tuesday the Owls improved
their record to 12-1 with a four-game
win over Sam Houston State Univer-
sity.
But the next few matches will be
tough tests for this wickedly good
Owl team. On Friday, September 25,
Rice hosts Florida, ranked no. 7 in the
South region (Rice is ranked no. 5).
The next night eighth-ranked
Southwest Texas comes to town for
another challenge. But the apex of
this coming homestand will be the
conference opener against Texas
A&M. Last year this game set an
attendance record, probably because
nobody likes Aggies and this was
their chance to scream at them.
So don't make a date for Wednes-
day, September 30, because the Ags
are coming to town for a dose of
Rubash humble pie.
Ruggers find jazzy finish
to a blue Dixie weekend
by Brian Holmes
Heads fraught with visions of vic-
tory, the Rice Rugby Club traveled to
the small cajun refuge of Hammond,
Louisiana to compete in the Deep
South Collegiate rugby tournament
last weekend, only to wind up 1 -2 for
the weekend.
Upbeat saxophones bebopping
through our ears, we anticipated
walking home with the championship
trophy. Our first game was against
LSU, rumored to have beaten our
local rivals, University of Houston,
60-0.
Unstirred, Rice began their con-
quest. The first half was close, the fast
LSU bubs taking advantage of weak-
nesses in our defensive line. Even
before Rice could near the hallowed
try-zone, Louisiana State scored
twice. But Rice retaliated with a pen-
alty try scored by Phil "do it for
Satchmo" Meyer.
A kick by Pat Courtney put the
halftime score at 13-7, with Rice
behind but not by much. Then the
second half came. The ghost of B.B.
King must have fteen present, because
njan was it blue. Rice went scoreless,
while LSU scored three more times
making the final score 29-9.
But a third place trophy was still in
our group. With the faint dixieland
sounds of Charlie "the bird" Parker
and Pete Fountain ringing through
our hopeful minds, Rice took on the
team from the University of Southern
Mississippi. Striking fast was, once
again, our illustrious president Phil
Meyer. He took a quick tap of a pen-
alty near the Southern Mississippi
line and dove across with dozens of
the blackguards hanging on him. But
then, to our dismay, B.B. returned as
Southern Mississippi, though less
talented than we (in our opinions, of
course) began to score, and we
stopped. Not helping was the loss of
Jim Humes to a profusely bleeding
and stitch-warrenting head lacera-
tion. The blue final was 17-9.
The players went their separate
ways on Saturday night. Some ven-
tured to Baton Rouge to see Rice
Football fail to score, and some went
to clubs in New Orleans to see them-
selves fail to score.
But Sunday was different. Tulane
fell victim to a fresh Rice team. The
Rice back line, four starters short,
dominated the field. Steve Mattingly
scored first on a long breakaway run,
followed by two tries by David Am an,
and finally one by Pat Courtney. Also,
Pat Courtney's awesome kick scat-
tered throughout the score.
The scrum dashed around the field
with renewed vigor. The TNT second
row combo of Tom Jackson and
Travis Kinchen helped fill in for the
ailing Meyer. Tres Ward looked like
the pirate king of old, schmucking op-
ponents with aplomb. Joel Weber
stepped into the front row hiatus cre-
ated by recent injuries to help shore up
the scrum. Tulane's beaten team
swelled like the cheeks of Dizzie
Gillespie.
The final was 21-0, consolation for
the previous day's disaster. So there it
is, a dixieland finish to a blue week-
end for our Rice ruggers.
This Saturday afternoon we play
the Houston Eliminators at home.
Two years ago, Rice beat these guys
by a score of 36-0. Last year the bad
guys triumphed by a similar lopsided
score. There's no love lost between
these two teams—they have even
been known to question each other's
ancestry in public. Please come
watch. Watch them bleed.
Two great ways to cruise through the semester.
The hand on the left is poised on what could be the most essential part
of your education.
A Macintosh™ computer.
, And the hand on the right is gripping pure, simple, unadulter-
ated fun.
A Honda Scooter. One were giving away.
All you have to do for a chance to drive it away is visit your campus
computer center and fill out an entry form. While you're there, take a
Macintosh for a test drive.
Because Macintosh can help you write term papers, categorize
elements of the periodic table, plot the rise and fall of pork-bellv
prices, compile computer code, and taik to other computers.
And the first 250 people on campus who get behind a mouse, so
to speak, will receive a free Apple® memo board.
So head over to your campus computer center today. And ask
about our Student Financing Program.
Who knows? You may soon find yourself cruising a little farther
than you expected.
A Test drive a Macintosh. You may ride away on a Honda Scooter.
HONDA
Enter August 24 - October 2
9 Campus Bookstore
Microcomputer Store
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Raphael, Michael J. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, September 25, 1987, newspaper, September 25, 1987; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245672/m1/19/?rotate=90: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.