Volleyball: Rice Downs Boise State 3-1
9/30/2004 BOISE, Idaho ? The Rice volleyball team stayed undefeated in Western Athletic Conference action with a 30-28, 21-30, 30-18, 30-20 victory against Boise State Thursday night in Boise, Idaho.
While the Owls led for all but the first point in game one, the Broncos did not allow Rice to pull away, tying the score four times. Rice held on down the stretch to take the first game behind the strong hitting of Rebeca Pazo and Rebecca Kainz. Pazo had six kills while Kainz added five on .559 hitting.
Boise State turned things around in game two, running out to a 7-1 lead it would not surrender. The Rice offence struggled in the set, hitting just .089 (16-12-45).
Momentum swing quickly back in favor of the Owls after the break. Like the Broncos in game two, Rice opened with a 7-1 run, and slowly pulled away through the course of the frame. The Blue and Gray showed a balanced attack with six players recording at least two kills each as the team hit .419 (16-3-31).
Rice pulled away again in game four taking a 10-6 lead, but Boise State fought back to tie the score four times. The Broncos took 15-14 lead, before the teams started trading points. With Boise State leading 17-16, Kainz knocked down a kill to knot the score. Lindsey Carter then stepped back to serve and sparked a 6-0 Owl run. The Broncos would not threaten again as Rice took the match on a Pazo ace. Pazo has six kills and a pair of aces to lead the game.
Pazo led all hitters with 19 kills and added 14 digs for her 10th double double of the year. Kainz was next with 14 kills, hitting .423 on the night. Olaya Pazo was a dig shy of a double double posting 11 kills and nine digs. Kristina Hoban had her eighth double double of the season with 48 assists and 10 digs. Yvette Kirk led the Owls with 15 digs.
Cameron Flunder led the Broncos with 16 kills and Jamie Claussen added 12 kills and 12 digs.
The win improves the Owls' record to 13-2 on the year and 3-0 in the WAC. It is the program's best start since Rice opened the 1989 campaign with a 14-2 mark, and matches the best league start set in 1996. Boise State falls to 13-3 overall and 2-1 in the WAC.
Rice continues its current road swing, now traveling to El Paso to take on Texas-El Paso on Saturday at 2 pm (CDT). |
