Rice University Athletics
Rice University
East Carolina (C-USA)
Rice Loses Heartbreaker To ECU
10/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 21, 2005
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Houston - After battling in the first two games, the Rice volleyball team stormed out to dominate East Carolina in games three and four, but the rally came up just shy in a marathon game five as the Owls lost a heartbreaker 30-26, 30-25, 15-30, 20-30, 23-21 Friday at Autry Court in Conference USA action.
Game one saw five early ties before the Owls looked to take control, slowly building a 16-11 lead. After trading points, and with Rice holding an 18-13 advantage, the Pirates began closing the gap. They knotted the score at 21, the first of four ties down the stretch, before finishing the frame on a 5-0 run.
The teams continued to battle into game two. With the score tied at four each, ECU mounted a 6-0 run to regain the momentum. The Pirates led by as many as seven in the game. With the scoreboard reading 20-14, junior Tessa Kuykendall posted consecutive kills to launch a 7-1 Rice rally. Kuykendall had four of the Owls' points in the run, but it wasn't enough as the Pirates held on to take a 2-0 lead into the break.
The tables turned in game three as Rice stormed out of the gates with a 7-0 run and never looked back. The Owls only allowed consecutive Pirate serves four times and limited them to two serves on each occasion. Kuykendall posted six kills on nine attacks to hit .667 in the frame.
Rice continued to dominate in game four, scoring the first four points. ECU responded with two points, but seniors Kristina Hoban and Olaya Pazo posted consecutive kills as the Owls slowly pulled away to force game five. Pazo was the kill leader with six, while Kuykendall added five on seven swings.
The Owls struck first in game five with an ace from sophomore Rachel Lopez. The Pirates answered back for the first of four early ties before Rice started to pull away to hold a 12-8 lead. ECU battled back, and, with Rice serving for the match at 14-13, took advantage of three miscues to grab the momentum.
The Owls fended off two Pirate match points, and served for the win again after kills from freshmen Karyn Morgan and Jessica Holderness. Once again, ECU fought back to score on a kill and a block to grab the upperhand with its third match-point serve. Morgan responded with consecutive kills as Rice served twice more for the match. The Pirates rebounded to serve twice for the win, and, after 12 ties, seven lead changes and on their fifth match point, took the victory.
Pazo lead all hitters with 23 kills, while Kuykendall and Morgan both posted career highs with 21 and 19 kills, respectively. Holderness tied her best with 14. Hoban recorded her third triple double of the season with 12 kills, a season-high 61 assists and 13 digs. Pazo led the back-row defense with 17 digs, while Morgan added 11 and Holderness and Lopez chipped in 10 a piece.
The Owls fall to 13-6 on the year and 4-4 in C-USA with the loss. Rice next hosts league-leading Marshall, a 3-1 winner at Houston Friday night, on Sunday at 1 pm.
