Rice University
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
UTEP
Owls Hold On To Beat Miners 3-2
10/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 14, 2006
Box Score in HTML
Box Score in PDF
EL PASO -- The Rice volleyball team overcame a furious UTEP rally to down the Miners 30-16, 30-19, 23-30, 19-30, 15-8 in Conference USA action on Friday in El Paso. The match marked the 11th time for the Owls to go to five games this season, the most in school history.
Freshman Jennifer McClean paced Rice with 18 kills, hitting .326 for the match. She was followed closely by sophomore Karyn Morgan's 16 kills. Junior Yvette Kirk led the defense with 25 digs, while McClean added 20.
The Owls were dominant in the first two games, hitting .338 (35-8-80) over the two frames. Middle blockers Tessa Kuykendall and Natalie Bogan were solid in the early going as Kuykendall had six kills in the first, then Bogan added six in the second. Rice's defense was equally impressive early on as the Owls held the Miners to .000 hitting in the first two games, including a -.019 in the first.
Fortunes reversed in game three. After Rice opened with a 7-1 run, UTEP scratched back to take the lead at 18-17. The teams then traded points before the Miners took the lead for good.
With momentum on their side, the Miners kept pushing in game four, taking over the frame after four early ties.
Finding their backs against the wall in game five, the Owls opened with five unanswered points, including three kills from McClean. UTEP responded with a 4-0 run, but the Miners couldn't turn the corner as the Owls had regained their swing and hit .381 in the frame to take the match.
The win improved Rice's record to 11-11 overall and 4-4 in C-USA. The Owls continue their road swing on Sunday, traveling to New Orleans, La., to face Tulane at 1 pm.
