Rice University Athletics
Rice University
Illinois-Chicago
Owls Rally For 3-1 Win Over UIC
9/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 16, 2005
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Behind big rallies in games three and four, Rice defeated the University of Illinois-Chicago 30-26, 23-30, 31-29, 30-22 on Friday at the Illini Classic in Champaign, Ill.
The Flames took an early lead in game one, jumping out to a 6-2 lead. Senior Olaya Pazo scored a kill to spark at 3-0 run to get the Owls back into the game, then after ties at seven and eight, Rice took its first lead. UIC would knot the score at 15 before the Owls took the lead for good. Freshman Jessica Holderness led a balanced attack with five kills.
The Owls struggled in the second frame and after the score stay close in the early going, the Flames pulled away for the win.
UIC seemed to have game three in hand as well and looked to take the frame with a 29-24 lead before Rice made its presence felt. Junior Tessa Kuykendall notched her fourth kill of the game to give sophomore Yvette Kirk the serve with the Owls trailing 29-25. After a Flames mis-hit and timeout, Pazo smashed a ball down for her seventh kill of the game. Another UIC hitting error followed by a big block from Holderness and senior Kristina Hoban, and Rice had the scored tied at 29 with all of the momentum. Hoban scored the next kill, then the freshmen Holderness and Karyn Morgan posted another big block to secure the win.
The Flames stayed feisty, though, and rebounded in game four to take a 5-1 lead in the early going. The Owls wouldn't let the gap get any larger, finally closing to 17-16. The Flames posted two points to regain its advantage, but, after a pair of mis-hits, the Owls took control of the match. Rice rallied off 10-straight points behind the tough serving of Morgan and stellar hitting from Pazo, who posted six kills in the run. UIC tried to rebound scoring three points, but another Pazo kill ended the Flames' run. Kuykendall and sophomore Kristina Dennemann blocked down the match-winner for the victory.
Pazo recorded her sixth double-double of the season to lead the Owls with 23 kills along with 10 digs while hitting .340 for the match. Holderness and Kuykendall were next offensively with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Kirk led the back-row defense with 14 digs, while Hoban had 13 to go with 47 assists for her sixth double-double of the year.
The win improves the Owls record to 7-2 on the year. Rice will now face either host Illinois or Eastern Illinois in Saturday's State Farm Illini Classic championship match at 7 pm.
