Rice University Athletics
Rice University
Illinois
Rice Sweeps Illinois To Win Illini Classic
9/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 17, 2005
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Senior Olaya Pazo earned MVP honors as the Rice volleyball team rallied to win games one and three to beat Illinois 30-26, 30-26, 32-30 and win the State Farm Illini Classic crown on Saturday in Champaign, Ill.
Pazo was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Kristina Hoban, Rice's senior setter, and junior middle blocker Tessa Kuykendall.
The Illini jumped out to the lead in game one, taking a 9-4 advantage in the early going. The Owls then went on a 7-2 run to knot the score at 11. It would be the first of four ties before Rice took the lead for good with a kill from Pazo. She went on to finish with five kills in the frame, while sophomore Kristina Dennemann and freshman Karyn Morgan both posted four kills on .500 hitting.
The battle continued into game two as Rice and Illinois knotted the score 13 times. The last tie (25-25) came off an Illini kill, but the Owls answered back with a pair of Pazo kills and an ace from Morgan to pull ahead for good. Kuykendall made her presence felt in the game with seven kills and a pair of blocks to lead Rice.
After the Owls struck first in game three, the Illini fought back immediately with five-straight points to take the lead. Illinois surged ahead and led by as many as seven on two occasions (18-11 and 19-12), before the Rice offense began to retaliate. Dennemann sparked a 4-0 run as the Owls started closing the gap. Freshman Jessica Holderness then started a 3-0 run with a kill as Rice finally knotted the score at 24.
The Illini then scored a pair of points which Pazo immediately answered with two kills. Illinois jumped back into the lead and served for the game at 29-27, but a trio of hitting errors gave the Owls a 30-29 lead. The Illini would tie the score one more time at 30, but a big block from Hoban and Kuykendall gave Rice the lead for good. Pazo had six kills in the final frame, while Kuykendall had a hand in all three Rice blocks.
For the match Pazo finished with 17 kills while hitting .316. Kuykendall was next with 11 kills and was in on all six Rice blocks. Sophomore Yvette Kirk anchored Rice's back row defense with 15 digs on the night.
The victory improves the Owls' record to 8-2 overall. Rice begins competition in Conference USA on Wednesday, traveling across town to face Houston at the UH Alumni Center.
