Rice University
Lamar
Rice Sweeps Lamar
9/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 27, 2006
BEAUMONT, Texas -- Taking a break from conference action, Rice ended a five-match skid with a 30-22, 30-19, 33-31 victory against Lamar on Wednesday night in Beaumont.
Freshman Jennifer McClean led the Owls with 11 kills and 14 digs. Senior Tessa Kuykendall and sophomore Karyn Morgan were next with nine kills each.
Kuykendall opened the match for Rice with a pair of kills and a block with junior Rachel Lopez as the Owls took a 4-0 lead and never looked back. McClean and Morgan both had four kills to lead a balanced Rice attack with the squad posting a .324 hitting percentage.
McClean opened game two with a kill, scored a block with Kuykendall, then Kuykendall posted a solo block to give the Owls a 3-0 lead. The Cardinals answered back with a pair of kills, but the Owls regained control with a Kuykendall kill and an ace from junior Kristina Dennemann. Rice pulled away to take the frame in commanding fashion.
McClean recorded another four kills in the game to pace the Rice offense.
Lamar rebounded in game three, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. Rice scratched back with a 4-0 run to tie the score. The Cardinals recovered to pull ahead and lead by as many as five at 27-22. The Owls continued to fight, though, and freshman Jessie Boulavsky scored a kill to spark a 7-1 run. Lamar twice fought off match point, but it wouldn't be enough. Kuykendall and Lopez broke the 31-31 tie with a big block and Morgan closed out the match with a kill.
On the defensive side, Morgan added 12 digs, and junior Yvette Kirk had 11. As a team the Owls held the Cardinals to .089 hitting while finishing with a .261.
Rice returns to Autry Court, and Conference USA action, on Friday, hosting Tulane at 7 pm. The Owls also host UTEP on Sunday at 1 pm.
