Rice University
SMU
Owls Fall To Mustangs 3-2
10/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 5, 2007
DALLAS -- In a battle of shifting momentum, Rice was edged by SMU 20-30, 30-28, 21-30, 30-27, 15-10 in Conference USA volleyball action Friday night in Dallas.
Sophomores Natalie Bogan (Oakland, Calif.) and Jennifer McClean (Cy Fair HS) each posted 18 kills to lead all hitters in the match. Junior Jessica Holderness (Sycamore, Ill.) was next with 16 kills while freshman Caroline Gill (Fairhope, Ala.) added 14. Five Owls exceeded double-digs in digs, paced by freshman Tracey Lam's (San Francisco, Calif.) 23 and senior Kristina Dennemann's (Cicero, Ind.) 21.
After trading points to open play, the Owls launched an 8-1 run to take control of game one. Rice pulled away down the stretch with a balanced attack as Gill had five kills in the frame while three others had four each.
The Mustangs came right back in game, building an early 10-6 lead. Rice scratched back to take a 15-14 advantage in what would be the first of four lead changes. SMU rebounded and took the lead for good at 24-23. The Owls fended off a pair of game points, but it wasn't enough as the Mustangs held on to their advantage.
SMU continued to hold the momentum in the early going of game three taking a 7-3 lead. Rice then took advantage of a Mustang service error and broke open the game with an 11-1 run. SMU fought back to within three twice, but the Owls held firm to go up 2-1.
The battle intensified in the fourth. After three early ties, the Owls looked to regain the momentum, pulling ahead 10-6. The Mustangs answered back to knot the score at 13, the first of 10 more ties down the stretch. Neither team could gain the advantage as in addition to the ties, the lead changed hands seven times. SMU broke a 25-25 tie to take the final lead and force game five.
After trading points early, the Mustangs regained their hold on the momentum then held off a late Owl rally to secure the win.
The loss drops Rice to 8-9 on the year and 3-2 in C-USA action. The Owls next head to Tulsa to face the Golden Hurricane on Sunday at 1 pm.
