Oct. 5, 2007
NCAA Box Score
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DALLAS (SMU)--SMU volleyball earned its second conference win Friday night, beating the Rice Owls in five games (20-30, 30-28, 21-30, 30-27, 15-10). Three Mustangs recorded double-doubles in the match, and Candice Davis notched another 30-dig effort.
With the win, the Mustangs improve their record to 12-7, 2-3 in C-USA, while Rice drops to 8-9, 3-2 in conference play.
Caitlin Rainbird directed the offense with her 15 kills and 17 digs, while freshman Kathryn Wilkerson added 15 kills and 16 digs of her own. Junior setter Stefanie Kons notched 51 assists and 10 digs to aid the defense. Sophomore Adrienne Zielasko paced the offensive effort as the only Mustang to hit over .250. Zielasko managed nine kills, two digs and two block assists and hit an impressive .467.
The Owls and Mustangs were evenly matched as both teams struggled to grab control over the match. Rice won the first game, overpowering the Mustangs early, quickly building a seven point lead and forcing the Mustangs into a timeout. SMU cut the lead to five, but were unable to gain on the Owls. Rice took nine of the game's last 14 points to beat the Mustangs.
Game two saw SMU jump out to a quick lead. The Mustangs scored 10 of the game's first 16 points. SMU retained the lead through the game's 27th point, until the Owls knotted the score at 14 all. The teams battled through five ties before the Mustangs were finally able to pull it out, taking the win 30-28.
The Mustangs struck first in game three as well, at one time holding a 7-3 advantage. But the Owls would not back down, taking the next three points unanswered and taking the score to 7-6. SMU scored again, trying to put distance between the teams, but the Owls strung together the next six points, giving them a lead they would not relinquish. The Mustangs were unable to get closer than within four points the rest of the game.
Rice started game four by scoring first and building a four-point lead. The Mustangs crept back, cutting the lead to two before finally knotting the score at 13-13. The teams battled through nine more ties and four lead changes before momentum was finally on the Mustangs' side. SMU pulled ahead in the game's 51st point, scoring four of the final six points to put the game out of reach and force a fifth.
Game five looked to be another closely-fought battle, as the two teams traded points until the score was tied 4-4. SMU pulled ahead, winning the next two points straight. The Owls stayed within two points, but seemed unable to further close the gap. Rice called a timeout to regroup as the Mustangs led, 9-7. Coming off the timeout, SMU scored the next three points, driving the score to 12-7. But the Owls responded, taking three points of their own, and cutting SMU's lead down to two and forcing SMU to take a timeout. The Mustangs were able to refocus their efforts and score the final three points of the game, 15-10.
The Mustangs are back in action Sunday as they host Houston at Moody Coliseum at 1:00 p.m. For the complete schedule and results, log on to SMUMustangs.com.
