The opening day of the NCAA volleyball tournament at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb., is in the book.

Here are key takeaways:

Owls grounded

Rice was the first team to fall casualty to COVID-19 protocols. The Owls were removed from the tournament shortly before Wednesday’s opening-round match vs. North Carolina A&T. The match was ruled a no-contest and North Carolina A&T advanced to the second round to face Penn State.

Players, coaches and staff have underdone daily testing since arriving in Omaha, Neb., on either Sunday or Monday, and had to have two straight negative results before being allowed to enter the playing facility.

“It certainly is painful to see how much the team wanted to compete and to have to break the news to them that they couldn’t play,” Rice coach Genny Volpe, a former Clark High School standout, said in a press release. “Although this is very sad moment, we know safety is the No.1 priority. We will be back and will be stronger than ever.”

The removal from the event came as Rice (16-5) was a trendy pick by some prognosticators to make a deep tournament run. The Owls, who are ranked No. 24 in the nation, handed Big 12 champion Texas its lone loss and pushed Baylor to five sets before losing, earned an at-large berth to the tournament, a rarity for an non-Power 5 Conference schools that didn’t win its league’s automatic bid. 

Top performers

• Julia Bergmann, Georgia Tech: 31 kills and 15 digs vs. Lipscomb
• Thana Fayad, San Diego: 17 kills vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
• Paige Briggs, Western Kentucky: 16 kills and .682 hitting clip vs. Jackson State
• Kyle Deberg, Missouri: 16 kills and .481 hitting percentage vs. South Dakota
• Emily DeWalt, Texas State: 45 assists, 10 digs and three kills vs. Utah Valley
• Abby Hulsman and Olivia Lohmeier, Morehead State: 17 kills each vs. Creighton
• Amie Sullivan, High Point: 17 kills vs. Central Florida
• Caroline Meuth, Notre Dame: 10 kills and three blocks vs. Army
• Shannon Scully, Pepperdine: 13 kills and 13 digs vs. Maryland-Baltimore County
• Tyeranee Scott, Texas State: 14 kills, .591 hitting clip, three blocks vs. Utah Valley
• Dani Nay, Weber State: 18 kills vs. Bowling Green

By the numbers

.000: Jackson State’s hitting percentage during its three-set loss vs. Conference USA champion Western Kentucky. Jackson State had 19 kills on 85 attempts but also committed 19 hitting errors. Three Jackson State players had negative hitting percentages and two hit .000.

4: Schools that registered their first NCAA tournament win on Wednesday — High Point, Weber State, Wright State and Morehead State. Morehead State defeated Creighton and High Point outlasted Central Florida in five sets, while Wright State topped Samford and Weber State clipped Bowling Green.

17: Total blocks recorded by Notre Dame during its four-set triumph vs. Army. Hannah Thompson and Lauren Wenzel each had four blocks as the Fighting Irish limited Army to a .000 hitting percentage. The Black Knights had 44 kills in 173 swings but also committed 44 hitting errors. Notre Dame also added 10 service aces.

.567: UCLA’s hitting percentage in its sweep of Rider. The Bruins had 40 kills in 60 attempts, committing only six hitting miscues. Outside hitter Mac May led the way with 14 kills and a .500 hitting clip.

They said it

“I think we’re all ready. Playing the Big 12 teams, I think we’re very prepared. It’ll be a good match for sure. I think if we’re all on, we have a chance of beating Nebraska.” — Texas State hitter Tyeranee Scott 

“We’ve really had an identity where we can find a way. I thought when it kind of got tough, we locked in and found a way. We really started to play with a joy.” — Notre Dame coach Mike Johnson on team overcame first-set loss to defeat Army

“We talked the whole time about how we were going to have to play together and everyone was going to have to contribute, whether that was physical, emotional, whether you played or not. I think up and down our roster, everybody gave everything they had.” — High Point coach Ryan Meek