Rice University
Tulsa
Tulsa Out-Lasts Rice
11/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 9, 2007
HOUSTON -- In a defensive showdown that featured a season high 111 team digs for the Owls, Rice fell to Tulsa 26-30, 30-23, 30-26, 20-30, 15-10 on Friday night in Conference USA volleyball action at Fox Gym. The Owls and Golden Hurricane combined for 212 digs and 21 blocks through the course of the match.
"That was a tough match, but give credit to Tulsa; they played incredible defense tonight" said head coach Genny Volpe.
Freshman Tracey Lam (San Francisco, Calif.) was one off the Rice record with 35 digs to lead the Owls' defense. Freshman Meredith Schamun (Murrieta, Calif.) was next with a career high 18 digs as four Owls reached double figures in digs.
Offensively, junior Karyn Morgan (Episcopal HS) paced the Owls with 18 kills. Junior Jessica Holderness (Sycamore, Ill.) and sophomore Natalie Bogan (Oakland, Calif.) were next with 14 a piece. All told, five Rice hitters scored double-digit kills in the match.
"Tracey and Karyn were definitely our bright spots tonight," said Volpe. "Tracey played tremendous defense."
Tulsa's Fabiola Nepomuceno led all hitters with 21 kills, while Emma Ridley added 14. The Hurricane's Julia Silva notched a triple-double with 11 kills, 52 kills and 21 digs.
The match marked the fourth-consecutive meeting in which Tulsa has edged Rice in five games. With the loss, Rice falls to 11-16 overall and 6-9 in C-USA. The Owls close out the regular season Saturday night, facing off with in-state nemesis SMU in a 7 pm bout at Fox Gym.
