Rice University
SMU
Owls Break Mustangs 3-1
10/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 27, 2006
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HOUSTON -- Junior Yvette Kirk broke the school record for digs in a season to help Rice hold off a determined SMU squad for a 30-25, 30-27, 27-30, 30-27 victory in a closely contested Conference USA volleyball bout Friday night at Autry Court.
Kirk had 12 digs in the match to bring her season total to 465, breaking Leigh Leman's mark of 464 set in 2000.
On offense, sophomore Karyn Morgan led a quartet of quality Owl hitters with 23 kills. Freshman Jennifer McClean was next with 19, while senior Tessa Kuykendall had 17, and freshman Natalie Bogan added 14. McClean also led the passers with 23 digs.
Rice got off to a strong start in game one, opening up an 11-5 lead as Bogan scored the Owls' first three kills. The Owls led by as many as seven three times, including at 29-22. The Mustangs fought off three game points before Kuykendall closed out the frame with a kill.
The Mustangs held on to the momentum they had built late in game one to open the second stanza. After four early ties, SMU pulled out to a 14-8 advantage. Rice fought back and stay close, finally knotting the score at 24-all. After two more ties, the Owls took the lead for good with an ace from junior Rachel Lopez and kill from Kuykendall.
After the break, the Owls looked to take complete control of the match, jumping out to a 12-6 lead. The Mustangs then proceeded to take a page out of the Owls' playbook and began chipping away at the lead. Trailing 25-20, SMU ran off five-straight points to knot the score. The teams then traded points before the Mustangs broke a 27-27 tie with three consecutive kills to take the frame and force game four.
Rice, though, would not be denied. After four early ties to open the frame, the Owls scored three straight, including a pair of kills from Kuykendall, to take control of the match. Rice would not trail again on the way to the victory.
The Owls make their final home appearance of 2006 on Sunday when they host Tulsa at 1 pm at Autry Court.
