Rice University
Texas Southern
Rice Sweeps Texas Southern
9/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 4, 2007
HOUSTON -- Rice overcame an eight-point deficit in the second game against Texas Southern to secure a 30-12, 31-29, 30-14 victory on Tuesday night at Fox Gym.
Junior Karyn Morgan (Episcopal HS) paced the Owls on the night with 15 kills and nine digs and posted a career best .464 hitting percentage (15-2-28). Sophomore Jennifer McClean (Cy Fair HS) was next with 11 kills and cracked the Rice record books with seven aces, tying the mark for ninth-best in a single match.
After opening the match with a service error, the Owls promptly rebounded with a pair of kills from Morgan sparking a 7-0 run. Rice built a 10-point lead, and when the Tigers try to start a rally, McClean delivered a decisive blow. After a kill to move the Owls ahead 16-8, McClean put on a serving clinic, serving Rice to 10-consecutive points with five aces including four in a row, putting away the game.
The second game took a completely different turn as the Owls struggled with their consistency and the Tigers immediately took advantage. With Rice up 4-3 early, TSU's Simone Green served her team to a 4-0 rally. The Tigers continued to pull away and twice led by eight points (19-11 and 27-19). The Owls finally righted the ship, and it was McClean again who lit the spark. With a kill to make it 27-20, McClean served for five more Rice points as the momentum began to swing back in favor of the Owls. The Tigers' Jerleesa King scored a kill to put TSU at game point (29-26), but the Owls took control with a 5-0 run to close out the frame.
After the break, the team's traded points before Rice regained the upper hand with an ace from senior Kristina Dennemann (Cicero, Ind.). TSU stayed close but a Morgan kill started an 8-0 rally which put the game out of reach at 20-8.
In addition to Morgan and McClean, Rice freshman Caroline Gill (Fairhope, Ala.) added 10 kills and had a hand in all three Rice blocks in the match.
The Tigers' Muriel Thymes posted a match-best 10 digs while Krystal Obi had six kills and three blocks to lead TSU.
The Owls (3-4) hit the road for their next seven matches, beginning this weekend with a trek to Columbia, S.C., for the Nike Gamecock Invitational, where they will face host South Carolina, Troy and Appalachian State.
