Rice University
SMU (C-USA)
Owls Sweep Mustangs
11/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 4, 2005
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DALLAS - Behind the solid hitting of junior Tessa Kuykendall, the Rice volleyball team swept SMU 30-24, 30-26, 30-23 in Conference USA action Friday night in Dallas.
The Owls struck first in game one with a kill from Kuykendall. After a pair of early ties, Rice scored consecutive kills from seniors Kristina Hoban and Olaya Pazo to take the lead for good. Kuykendall led the Owls in the frame with six kills on .625 hitting.
Kuykendall was even better in game two as she scored five kills in Rice's first eight points, including three straight during a 7-0 run, to give the Owls an early 8-2 lead. The Mustangs didn't give up and after trading points, ran off six in a row to knot the score at 13. Rice regained the lead but could not pull away until a kill from freshman Karyn Morgan broke a 24-24 tie. Kuykendall finished the game with eight kills on 10 attacks with no errors to hit .800.
After Kuykendall struck first again in game three, SMU rallied off a 5-1 run to take the advantage. Rice slowly chipped away at the lead finally tying things up at 12-all with a kill from Morgan and a Mustang mis-hit. It was the first of eight ties as neither team could take the momentum. SMU took the lead five times during the stretch, and three of those points were answered promptly by a Pazo kills.
Finally, Morgan posted a kill for the final tie at 19-19, sparking a 5-0 run for the Owls. Freshman Jessica Holderness served up an ace as Rice posted two more kills and a block in the run. With the Owls leading at 27-24, Kuykendall, Pazo and Hoban posted consecutive kills to secure the team victory. Pazo finished the frame with a whopping 11 kills on 16 swings to hit .600.
Pazo led all hitters with 21 kills, and Kuykendall finished with 19 after hitting .593 for the match. Morgan added 11 kills. Pazo also posted her 20th double-double of the season with her team-leading 17 digs. Sophomore Yvette Kirk recorded 16 digs, and Hoban chipped in 10 digs along with her 46 assists.
With the win, Rice improves its record to 16-8 overall and 7-6 in C-USA, while SMU falls to 11-13 overall and 7-5 in the league. The Owls conclude their current road swing at Tulsa on Sunday afternoon.
