Volleyball: Owls Push Top-Ranked Gophers To Brink
9/17/2004 HOUSTON ? The Rice volleyball team had possibly the best match in program history Friday, going up 2-1 on top-ranked Minnesota before the Gophers rallied to defeat the Owls 30-23, 30-32, 26-30, 30-28, 15-11 at the GlaxoSmithKline Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Gophers scored the first two points of the match, but the Owls fired right back to tie the score. Rice never let Minnesota out of its sites and knotted the score on 12 occasions. After a Rebecca Kainz kill to tie the score at 23, the Gophers took advantage of several Owl errors to take the opening set.
Rice fought right back in game two, taking an early lead it didn't relinquish until Minnesota surged ahead 24-21 after 14 ties. The Owls refused to go away, though, fighting back to tie the score five times and getting the ball back at 29-29. An Olaya Pazo kill put Rice at game point, but the Gophers answered back to knot the score at 30-30. Pazo, though, would not be denied as she scored the next point, then served for the set, with Lindsey Carter securing the game with a kill.
Minnesota answered back quickly in the third, pushing ahead 10-5, before Carter blasted a shot to start the momentum swinging back in favor of Rice. The Owls chipped away at the Gopher advantage, finally taking the lead at 13-12. It was a lead they would not surrender. Minnesota would twice tie the score (at 15 and 17), but Rice continued to surge ahead. After leading by as many as six (28-22), the Owls took a 2-1 lead in the match on a Kainz kill.
The momentum continued to swing back and forth in game four, with the Gophers taking an early lead. The Owls stayed tough, though, never letting their foes out of their sites and keeping Minnesota from pulling away. With Rice trailing 17-15, Carter stepped back to serve and eight points later the Owls were leading 23-17. The Bue and Gray took a 28-24 lead in their upset bid before the Gophers rallied off six-straight points to force game five.
This time Minnesota kept the momentum in its court, scoring the first point and never looking back. Rice tied the score at seven, but the Gophers answered back with a kill and averted the upset bid.
Rebeca Pazo recorded her seventh-consectute double double to lead Rice with 21 kills and 18 digs. Carter was next with 14 kills and 15 digs. Olaya Pazo and Kristina Hoban also had double doubles in the match with Pazo posting 10 kills and 15 digs, while Hoban had 63 assists and 16 digs. Yvette Kirk was also solid for the Owls in the back row, adding 16 digs.
The loss drops Rice's record to 7-2 on the year. The Owls continue their stint at the Carolina Classic on Saturday taking on 20th-ranked Loyola Marymount and host North Carolina. |
.png&type=webp)
