Rice University Athletics
Rice University
Tulane (C-USA)
Owls Sweep Green Wave
10/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 30, 2005
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HOUSTON - Freshman Karyn Morgan posted 15 kills to lead Rice to a 30-21, 30-28, 30-24 victory over Tulane on Sunday afternoon in Conference USA volleyball action at Autry Court.
The Owls jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead in game one behind a pair of kills from Morgan. The Green Wave stayed close, not allowing Rice to pull away until freshman Jessica Holderness posted a kill then stepped back to serve six-straight points for the Owls. Junior Tessa Kuykendall had a kill and shared a pair of blocks with Morgan and sophomore Rachel Lopez to score three points in the run as Rice took control of the game. Morgan finished the frame with seven kills.
After Kuykendall opened game two with a kill, Tulane responded with an 8-2 run, including five straight, to seize the momentum. The teams traded blows, then with the Owls trailing 13-8, Kuykendall scored back-to-back kills to spark a 5-0 run to knot the score at 13, the first of nine ties down the stretch. With Rice leading 28-25, Tulane rattled off three-straight points to tie the score. The Owls, though, took advantage of a Green Wave mis-hit to set up game point, then senior Olaya Pazo closed out the frame with a kill to send Rice into the break with a 2-0 lead.
The Owls scored the first two points of game three and never trailed in the frame. Tulane stayed close early on, closing to within a single point on thee occasions before Rice pulled away for good. Holding a 27-24 advantage, the Owls took the victory with a kill from Holderness and back-to-back swats from Pazo.
Morgan's 15 kills led all hitters, while Pazo was next with 14. Kuykendall added 12 kills along with a season-high nine blocks. Holderness had a career-high 13 digs to lead the Owls, while Pazo and senior setter Kristina Hoban had 10 digs each. Hoban also posted a career-high seven blocks in the match. Additionally, her 43 assists brought her career total to 3,747 as she takes over second on Rice's career assists list.
The victory improves Rice's record to 15-7 overall and 6-5 in C-USA, while the Green Wave fall to 2-11 and 1-9. The Owls next head across town to face Houston on Wednesday at 7 pm at the UH Alumni Center.
