Rice University Athletics
Rice University
UTEP (C-USA)
Rice Stumbles at UTEP
10/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 2, 2005
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EL PASO -- In their first meeting as Conference USA foes, Rice fell to UTEP 30-18, 24-30, 30-28, 35-33 on Sunday in El Paso.
The Owls and the Miners spent the previous nine years together as members of the Western Athletic Conference. UTEP jumped out to a quick start in game one, scoring the first four points of the frame and never looked back. Rice was held to just .061 hitting in the game.
The Owls rebounded to score the first two points in game two before the Miners answered right back. Neither team could gain the upper hand, but after a pair of lead changes and five ties, Rice looked to take control of the frame building a 16-12 lead. UTEP fought back to knot the score at 19, before a kill from senior Olaya Pazo sparked a 7-0 Rice run. The Owls never trailed again as freshman Karyn Morgan posted a pair of aces during the run. For the game, Rice hit .484 as a team.
Game three featured big swings in the momentum. After the Miners took an early 6-3 lead, Rice fired back to take a 10-7 advantage as senior Kristina Hoban led the run with three service aces. The Owls seemed to take the game in hand, building a seven point lead on three occasions, but the Miners scrapped back, knotting the score at 28, then holding onto the momentum to win the frame.
UTEP kept the upper hand at the start of game four, building a five-point lead. Rice slowly chipped away at the margin and tied the score at 20. It was the first of 11 ties and six lead changes down the stretch before the Miners finally prevailed in the marathon game
Junior middle-blocker Tessa Kuykendall led Rice's attack with 17 kills on .395 hitting. Pazo was next with 16 kills, while Morgan and Hoban checked in with 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Defensively, sophomore Kristina Dennemann recorded 30 digs, tying the mark for the fourth best single match in Rice history. Sophomore Yvette Kirk posted 16 digs, and Morgan matched her career-best of 14.
The loss drops the Owls' record to 9-3 overall and 1-1 in C-USA action. Rice finally returns home for the first time since since Sept. 6 next weekend as the Owls host Tulsa on Friday at 7 pm and SMU on Saturday at 1 pm.
