Volleyball: Owls Down Tulsa, Advance To WAC Semifinals
11/20/2004 RENO, Nev. ? Senior Lindsey Carter recorded 16 kills to lead Rice to the semifinals of the 2004 Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Championships as the Owls swept Tulsa 30-23, 30-22, 30-25 in Friday's opening round in Reno, Nev.
With the win, Rice, now 25-3 on the year, will face tournament host Nevada on Saturday in the 9 pm (CST) semifinal match. The Wolf Pack downed San Jose State 3-0 on Friday. Advancing to the 7 pm (CST) semifinal are Hawaii and Fresno State. The seeds held true in the opening day with the four top seeds scoring 3-0 wins.
After trading points to start game one, Rebecca Kainz spark a 4-0 run with a kill and a block to put the Owls up 8-3. Rice continued to maintain the advantage, but the Golden Hurricane didn't back down. Tulsa chipped away at the Owls' lead and closed to within one five times, the last at 22-21. But Rice would not be denied and closed out the frame with an 8-2 run. Carter paced the Owls in the game, scoring three of her team's final four points, and finishing with six kills.
Rice carried the momentum into the second game, scoring the first two points. Tulsa stayed close in the early going, but the Owls slowly pulled away behind the continued strong hitting of Carter. The senior recorded another seven kills in frame to hit .667 (7-1-9).
The Golden Hurricane fired right back after the break, opening with an ace and a block to score the first two points of game three. The Owls responded with a 5-0 run and never looked back, building a 10-point lead five times. Tulsa, though, continued to fight and put together a late 5-0 run to close to 27-22. The teams then traded points with the Hurricane fending off a pair of match points, but it wasn't enough as Rice took the win with a block from Carter and Amber Wiedemann. It was Rice's seventh block of the game after recording just two in the first two frames.
Carter finished the match with 16 kills on .444 hitting to go along with four blocks and a pair of aces. Kainz and Rebeca Pazo were next for Rice with eight kills a piece, as Kainz hit .500 (8-1-14) for the match. Tessa Kuykendall added seven kills in addition to her team high five blocks.
Tulsa's Joyce Silva led all hitters with 19 kills on .438 hitting (19-5-32). Sam Rutherford was solid defensively at the net for the Hurricane, posting five blocks including a pair of solo stuffs. |
