Tulsa
Rice
Volleyball Takes Out Rice, 3-1, in Dig Pink Match
10/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 25, 2009
Box Score |
Box Score 
TULSA, Okla. - It seems as though every time Tulsa and Rice get together for a volleyball match, a thrilling, well-played, and close game ensues. Sunday's Dig Pink match between the Conference USA rivals at the Donald W. Reynolds Center - a 3-1 Tulsa win - that was televised by CBS College Sports was no different.
The two meetings this season may not have been the five-set thrillers the teams and fans have become accustomed to over the three previous seasons, but Sunday's match was not short on drama, and made for good television. The teams tied 36 times and the lead changed hands 14 times in the four sets.
The Golden Hurricane (19-5, 8-2 C-USA) won the first two sets, before Rice (14-8, 6-5 C-USA) rallied after intermission to win the third. TU took care of business in the fourth set to come away with its ninth-straight victory to the delight of the more than 500 raucous fans.
The match was televised on a tape-delay basis by CBS College Sports and will air nationally, Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m.
"I think it was a great match to be playing in the last quarter of our season, against a quality team that we think we are going to have to compete against for a conference championship in November," Tulsa Head Coach Ed Allen said. "The opportunity for us to play that type of talent is important. It forces our kids to be pushed. I think we were pushed a lot defensively, and maybe we weren't as responsive as we needed to be. We had another solid offensive performance by our team, by the four that consistently lead us there. I think we've got to get better blocking and digging around that block as we move through the remaining six matches on our schedule."
Hannah Stout hit .621 and had 18 kills with no errors, and Jessica Adams tallied 27 digs to lead Tulsa in the 3-1 victory (25-19, 24-26, 25-22, 25-21).
The Golden Hurricane had three players with double-figure kills, as Jennifer Eichler pounded 15 and Tyler Henderson slammed 13 kills to lead TU. Eichler also had 10 digs and recorded her eighth double-double of the season. Stout hit over .600 for the fourth consecutive match, smashing 18 kills against zero errors. Senior Julia Kenealy had eight kills and hit .438 in the match.
The Hurricane hit .312 as a team (62-14-154) with 62 kills, 57 assists, 68 digs and four blocks. Rice (14-8, 6-5 C-USA) hit .235 as a team (67-27-170) with 67 kills, 65 assists, 70 digs and three blocks. Sunday was the first time this season in which an opponent had more kills and more assists in a match.
Freshman Shelbi Pitcher posted 12 digs, and sophomore Rachel Vukson contributed 32 assists, while freshman Jordan Clampitt added 22 assists and nine digs. Sophomore Kelsey Hancock had six kills and eight digs for the Hurricane.
"I think Hannah Stout had another solid performance offensively, again hitting somewhere in the .600's, and she had 18 kills on the match," said Allen. "Tyler (Henderson) and Jen (Eichler) were both very consistent in terms of kills and what we expect from them and how we need to lean on them offensively. I think Jules (Kenealy) did a great job of blocking for us, and also being very efficient for us. We're getting a steady performance on a regular basis offensively. Where we have to improve is in bettering first contacts and being more aggressive defensively."
Tulsa started the match on fire, jumping out to a 7-4 lead, which it extended to 12-4. The Golden Hurricane's lead grew to 10 points at 19-9, before Rice made an effort to come back. The Owls pulled to within four with a 6-0 run that made the score, 19-15. The Hurricane, however, was able to keep a steady lead and hold on for a 25-19 set win.
The next three sets were much closer and all 36 ties and 14 lead changes came in the final three frames. In set two, the teams traded leads, before Rice tried to pull away by scoring three of four points to take a 17-14 lead. Right away, Tulsa tied it with a 4-1 sprint of its own, and took a 20-19 advantage. The Hurricane and Owls struggled back and forth to a 24-24 stalemate, before TU used kills from Stout and Henderson to win the set, 26-24.
Coming out of intermission, Tulsa was trying for its fifth sweep-win in a row, but Rice would not give up that easily. After a back-and-forth battle, the Golden Hurricane pulled out to a 15-12 lead, and held its lead until the Owls tied the score at 19-19. Rice took the lead back at 21-20 with two of three points and went on to a 25-22 win.
The largest lead of either team in the fourth set was four points, by Tulsa, three times. Falling behind, 8-5, the Golden Hurricane ran off seven points in a row to pull ahead, 12-8. TU led 13-9, but in a common theme of the match, Rice came back to tie, knotting the score at 14 apiece. The Owls went ahead again at 16-15, but the Hurricane was determined to end the match without the deciding set. Tulsa broke a 20-20 tie and took the lead for good with a kill by Stout, scoring five of the final six points to win, 25-21.
The Golden Hurricane returns to the court next weekend as it plays host to UTEP, Friday at 7 p.m., and Sunday against Tulane at 1 p.m.
Admission to all TU home volleyball matches is free. For all Tulsa volleyball news and information, visit www.TulsaHurricane.com. Follow Tulsa Athletics on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TulsaHurricane. Become a fan of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane page on Facebook - search "Tulsa Golden Hurricane."
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
