Rice University Athletics
Rice University
UCF (C-USA)
Rice Rallies To Beat UCF 3-2
10/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 14, 2005
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For Immediate Use Oct. 14, 2005 Contact: Patty Barnes (713-348-5637)
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Senior Olaya Pazo posted a career-high 28 kills and senior Kristina Hoban had her second triple-double in three matches to help Rice fight back and defeat UCF 21-30, 30-23, 21-30, 30-26, 15-6 Friday night in Conference USA volleyball action in Orlando, Fla.
The Owls struggled in game one, as the Golden Knights pulled out to an 8-3 lead in the early going. Rice chipped away at the gap and closed to just a single point at 15-14. UCF responded with five-straight points and never looked back. Pazo recorded seven of her kills in the frame.
The Knights looked to continue with the momentum in game two, taking an early 3-1 lead. The Owls, though, took advantage of a service error to run off four straight to take their first lead of the match. UCF stayed close before Rice put together a 10-1 run to take control of the frame. Junior Tessa Kuykendall sparked the run with a pair of kills, then after a UCF time-out, scored three more points with another pair of kills and a block with Hoban.
After trading points to start game three, the Owls jumped to an 8-4 lead. The Knights though, rallied off seven-straight points to regain the lead and the momentum. Rice came back to knot the score at 11, but UCF posted a kill to take the lead for good.
The intensity picked up for both teams in game four as the Owls and the Knights battled through 12 ties and 10 lead changes. After UCF tied the game at 18, Rice took advantage of a pair of UCF errors to take the lead for good. The Knights would close the gap to just one point four times before Pazo put the game away with a kill from Hoban.
In game five, Pazo, Hoban and Kuykendall took over the match. Pazo connected on a set from Hoban for the first point of the frame, then again for the Owls' fourth point. Kuykendall and Hoban then accounted for Rice's next five points as the pair posted two blocks, Kuykendall had two kills and Hoban recorded a kill of her own. The trio recorded all nine of Rice's kills as the Owls dominated the game to take the match.
Pazo's 28 kills led all hitters, while Kuykendall was next for the Owls with 15. Freshman Karyn Morgan added 12 kills and a team-leading 16 digs. Hoban finished the day with 10 kills, 50 assists and 15 digs, to go along with a career-best tying five blocks. Kuykendall also finished with five blocks, and Pazo added 12 digs to the defensive effort.
The win improves Rice's record to 12-4 overall and 3-2 in C-USA. The Owls continue their current road trip on Sunday when they face Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, Miss., at noon.
