East Carolina Volleyball Falls to Rice in Three Games
September 13, 2002 | Volleyball
Rice's Rebecca Kainz hit .429 in the first game, knocking down four of seven with one error. The sophomore middle blocker also assisted on three of the Owls' eight block assists, giving Rice a 4-1 block advantage in the first set. Contributing on the outside for Rice was sophomore Catherine DuPont. The St. Petersburg, Fla. native hit .750 in the first set, behind three kills on four attempts and no errors. In her second start for Rice, freshman Elizabeth Tomasovic added three of the Owls 14 kills in the first period. Rice out-hit ECU .345 to .031 in the 30-16 game one win.
Rice again dominated ECU in the second period, out-hitting the Pirates .545 to .097 behind the swing of Tomasovic. The San Antonio (Clark) native hit .667 behind four kills on six attempts and no errors. Kainz and DuPont contributed on a combined eight of the Owls 10 block assists, as Rice again out-blocked ECU, 5-1. The duo also knocked down five kills in the 30-16 game two victory.
Sophomore Rebeca Pazo led the Owls in the third set with six of Rice's 15 kills. The 2001 Western Athletic Conference freshman of the year also recorded the lone solo block for the Owls. Rice recorded five blocks to ECU's two, and out-hit the Panthers .231 to .149 in the final set, as the Owls took game three 30-28.
Kainz finished the match with 10 block assists, which ties her for the third-best single-match in Rice history. The Austin (Westlake) native slammed down a career-best eight kills on 14 attempts with only one error. DuPont added nine assists at the net, as the Owls recorded 26 total block assists in the three-game win. Pazo led all Owl hitters with 11 kills, while Tomasovic recorded a personal-best nine, hitting .444 for the match. As a team the Owls out-hit ECU .344 to .100, and out-blocked the Panthers 14-4. Rice has out-blocked all but one of their opponents this season.
For East Carolina, Robyn Drewes led the team with 14 kills, while Sarah Vick and Alexis Jones each had seven. Jessica Vick had 24 assists on the night, and freshman Erica Wilson contributed 11 helpers in the Pirates' second straight loss.
"We really gave a good effort in game three," said ECU head coach Colleen Munson. "Hopefully we can regroup and get ready for tomorrow."
The Pirates will play two games in the final day of the tournament. East Carolina faces the host team, Tennessee at 10 a.m. and then plays Virginia at 5:00 p.m.
