Rice University
Penn State
Owls Spilt Last Two at LSU Classic
8/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 26, 2006
BATON ROUGE -- Rice split a pair of matches on Saturday to wrap up the LSU Tiger Classic, defeating Nicholls State 30-20, 30-23, 30-23 after suffering a 30-6, 30-17, 30-27 loss to No. 2 Penn State in Baton Rouge, La.
"For this tournament, I wanted to have a big challenge right off the bat to see where we stand as a team," said head coach Genny Volpe. "We improved from the beginning to the end. We played better against Penn State than against LSU. This type of competition really prepares us for the competitive season ahead."
The Owls came our strong in their final match of the tournament, jumping out to a 5-1 lead against the Colonels. Nicholls State battled back though to take a four-point lead at 11-7. Trailing 13-12, Rice rebounded behind the tough serving of senior Tessa Kuykendall with a 10-0 run. Kuykendall served nine-straight points for the Owls including consecutive aces. Sophomore Karyn Morgan hit a scorching .625 with six kills to lead the Rice attack.
In the second frame, the Owls scored the first four points, but the Colonels responded with four of their own. Rice slowly pulled away, building a 10-point lead down the stretch (28-18). Nicholls State didn't surrender and posted a late 5-1 run, but it wasn't enough to stop the Owls. Kuykendall led the game with five kills while freshman Jennifer McClean added four along with a pair of aces.
The Colonels rebounded well in the third game, taking an early 8-2 lead. Playing back on their heels, the Owls scratched back to tie the game at 13 while pushing ahead with a 9-0 run to take a 20-13 lead. McClean added two more aces during her serving run to help Rice take control of the game and the match.
Morgan finished the match with 12 kills to lead the Owls. Kuykendall added nine kills along with a career-best three aces.
"We were really happy with our hitting percentage as a team," said Volpe. "Our outsides were much more consistent, as they needed to be. (Junior setter) Rachel (Lopez) ran a diverse offense which helped the cause. Overall its good to walk out of here with a 3-0 win."
The day began with the daunting task of facing No. 2 Penn State. After a disappointing start to the match, Rice didn't give up as the team improved over each game. In the third frame, the Owls rallied back from a 9-2 deficit to tie the score at 12. Rice stayed close for the remainder of the match, even taking a 19-18 lead. The Nittany Lions ultimately held off the feisty Owls for the three-game decision.
"I felt like we came out really strong and well prepared for Penn State, but they had an answer for everything," observed Volpe. "I think some very good things came out of that match for us, and we saw the window in game three, but things just didn't go our way."
Morgan had 11 kills to lead the Owl attack against Penn State, while the freshman trio of McClean, Natalie Bogan and Jess Boulavsky chipped in six each.
The Owls head to Autry Court next weekend for their home opener with the Holiday Inn Select/Rice Invitational.
