Rice University
Michigan
Rice Drops Tough Matches on the Road
9/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 16, 2006
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The Rice volleyball team lost a tough pair of matches on Saturday at the Michigan/Nike Invitational, falling to IPFW 30-24, 30-22, 28-30, 27-30, 15-12 in the afternoon and No. 22 Michigan 30-25, 30-19, 30-28 in the finale at Ann Arbor, Mich.
In the first match of the day, senior Tessa Kuykendall and sophomore Karyn Morgan posted 18 kills each to lead the Owls' comeback attempt against the Mastodons. Morgan added another 14 kills against the Wolverines to finish the weekend with 45.
Against IPFW, the Owls found their backs against the wall after losing the first two games. Rice held a four-point lead, but an 8-2 Mastodon run put the Owls behind 27-25. Rice then took advantage of a IPFW mis-hit and a block from junior Mendi Hardy and redshirt freshman Ekatte Ibok to regain the momentum and close out the frame with 5-1 rally, forcing game four.
The teams exchanged blows with eight early ties to start game four before the Mastodons pulled ahead 13-9. Kuykendall sparked a 4-0 run with a kill to knot the score at 13, and the teams went back to trading kills. Neither squad could gain the momentum until, trailing by a point, Morgan scored a kill to start a 6-1 Rice rally. Ibok posted a pair of kills and a pair of blocks (both with Morgan) in the run as the Owls seized the advantage and held on to take the frame.
In the final game, the Owls opened strong, taking a 3-1 lead, but the Mastodons set off on a 6-1 run to take control. Rice twice closed to a single point, but couldn't turn the corner before IPFW took the win.
Freshman Jennifer McClean added 13 kills in the loss. Junior Kristina Dennemann recorded team highs of 20 digs and four aces, while junior Rachel Lopez recorded a career-best 17 digs.
The Owls showed no fear against the 22nd ranked Wolverines, building a 13-10 lead to start game one. Michigan responded with a 7-1 rally and took the lead for good at 17-14. Rice kept battling in the frame, twice closing to within two points down the stretch.
After four early ties to open the second stanza, the Wolverines took control with a 7-1 run and never looked back.
Despite being down 2-0, the Owls never surrendered and battled point for point with the Wolverines as game three featured 15 ties and four lead changes. Rice looked to take the upper hand, breaking a 25-25 tie with a kill from McClean and an ace from freshman Natalie Bogan. The Wolverines responded to a Michigan time-out by posting a pair of kills and closing out the match with a 5-1 run.
McClean led Rice with six aces as the Owls had their best serving night of the season with nine total aces and just two errors. Junior Yvette Kirk led the Rice passers against Michigan with 15 digs.
Next up for the Owls is the start of Conference USA action. Rice travels to UAB for a Friday night match before returning to Autry Court for the first time since Sept. 6 to host Memphis on Sunday at 1 pm.
