Rice University
Illinois
Owls Split Pair in Mizuno Invitational II
8/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 31, 2007
HOUSTON -- Rice split a pair of matches on the first day of the Mizuno Invitational II, beating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 30-19, 30-28, 30-23, then falling to Illinois 30-20, 30-19, 30-28 in the nightcap on Friday at Fox Gym.
The day began with No. 22 Louisiana State fending off the Illini for a 30-27, 26-30, 30-28, 22-30, 15-11 victory in the Tigers' only match of the day. Kyna Washington paced LSU with 18 kills while three of her teammates added 11 each.
The Owls dominated the Islanders in the opening frame of their bout, posting five blocks and holding TAMU-CC to a .041 hitting percentage. The Islanders picked up the pace in game two, but Rice's Jessica Holderness pounded out 10 kills on 12 swings with just one error in the game to lead the Owls. After nine ties and seven lead changes to open the final set, the Owls pulled away for the win.
Holderness, a junior, finished the match with 19 kills and 12 digs to lead her team and finished with a .548 hitting percentage (19-2-31). Sophomores Ekaette Shammah and Jessie Boulavsky teamed up on five blocks, leading Rice to a season best 12 total blocks.
In the Owls' second match of the day, Illinois was on fire in the first to frames, hitting .400 in game one and .529 in game two. Rice came back strong after the break, opening the third frame with a block from Boulavsky and freshman Caroline Gill, then a pair of service aces from freshman Meredith Schamun. The Illini fought back, putting together a 7-1 run then going up 9-6, but the Owls answered with a 3-0 run to knot the score.
Illinois posted a 6-0 run to take the lead for good, but Rice never surrendered and continued to battle. The Owls closed to 28-27 but couldn't turn the corner as the Illini held on for the win.
Holderness was again Rice's offensive leader, posting 12 kills with six coming in game three. Junior Karyn Morgan added 10 kills and 11 digs. Freshman Tracey Lam, making her first career start, led the Owls with 12 digs.
Tournament action continues tomorrow at Fox Gym, beginning at 11 am with LSU and TAMU-CC dueling. The Islanders then face the Illini at 2:30 pm. The Owls and Tigers face off at 5 pm in the finale.
