What a resume Rice has put together. The Owls, 26-3, with wins over fellow NCAA Tournament participants Houston, Samford, LSU and Creighton — and a five-set loss to Oregon — went 13-1 in Conference USA.
The loss? At Western Kentucky, the Owl’s fifth loss in a row to their C-USA nemisis.
Ten days later Rice beat WKU, topping the Toppers on their home floor 22-25, 25-22, 22-25, 28-26, 15-11 last Sunday in the Conference USA Championship. Now the Owls play Colorado in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, with the winner getting the fourth seed in the region, Baylor.
Rice, like any team, has overcome its share of obstacles. And perhaps no player has overcome more than fifth-year setter Carly Graham.
The “engine,” to use 19th-year coach Genny Volpe’s term, who drives the Rice machine, Graham is a 2021 Volleyball Magazine second-team All-American and two-time C-USA Setter of the Year. She is averaging 10.45 assists per set and earned first-team all-conference honors.
And Volpe believes Graham is underrated on the national level.
“She can do it all, and she can dish that ball around pretty much from anywhere on the court,” Volpe said. “She’s got a great sense of her hitters. She’s constantly trying to learn how to work with her hitters, and if there isn’t a connection happening, she’s going to find out why.
“But also, she takes risks. And that’s what I love about her is she’s not afraid to take a risk. We wouldn’t be where we are today without her.”
And she does it while battling Type 1 diabetes.
Graham, a 6-footer from Spring, Texas, was diagnosed three years ago, just before preseason workouts for her sophomore season. She spent two nights in the ICU after the diagnosis but returned to the court shortly thereafter and hasn’t missed a beat.
She admitted, however, that managing her condition is an ongoing challenge.
“Every day can affect my (glucose) levels differently,” Graham said. “The weather can. Games … due to adrenaline, can spike glucose levels. So typically during games, I’m pretty amped, so it’s kind of a learning curve.
“But during games I don’t think about it much at all, and I don’t feel the effects of that. Postgame, of course, but during the game it’s not really a factor.
“It’s been very difficult but very much manageable and still able to compete.”
Graham said she hopes to be…
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