University of Houston
Rice
Houston Falls To Cross-town Rival Rice At Home
10/17/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 17, 2002
HOUSTON - The University of Houston volleyball team fell to Rice University 3-1 at Hofheinz Pavilion tonight in the teams' second meeting this year. It was the Owls' first victory over the Cougars in seven years. Houston leads the all-time series against non-conference opponent Rice 53-6.
Rice stunned the Cougar defense in the first game, hitting .381 and preventing Houston's blocking game. Houston put the 30-26 result behind and came back to win the second game 30-24. The Cougars capitalized on five Owl service errors and led by as many as eight points to the finish.
Game three began with both teams exchanging points early, but the Owls secured the lead behind the hitting of Rebeca Pazo and Erica Scott. Rice hit .380 in game three and prevailed 30-27. It was do-or-die for the Cougars in game four, who took the lead at the 11-10 mark and boosted to 16-12 on a few kills by Jenny Tanneberger. Ten lead changes later, Rice scored three straight to take the game 36-34, and the match 3-1.
The Cougars were led by Jane Anne Karasek, who posted 28 kills, seven digs and four blocks, while Tanneberger added 26 kills, 14 digs and three blocks. Donna Sellen added 57 assists, 11 digs and six kills, while Jaci Gonzalez led the defense with 34 digs. Mirela Vasconcellos and Ali Roberts also had notable performances, adding 20 and 16 digs, respectively.
The Owls (11-9, 2-3 WAC) are undefeated in 2002 when they win their first game of a match. Houston, who is competing with only eight healthy players, defeated Rice 3-1 earlier this season to win the 2002 Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational at Autry Court.
The Cougars (11-6, 2-1 C-USA) will host TCU in a conference match at Hofheinz Pavilion Friday, Oct. 18, at 7:30 p.m.
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