University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
Rice
Volleyball Drops Conference Opener in Four
9/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 24, 2010
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Three Golden Eagles tallied double-digit kills led by Ashley Mell with 19, but it wasn't enough as Rice defeated Southern Miss, 3-1 (25-23, 25-20, 20-25, 25-22) Friday night in Reed Green Coliseum.
Southern Miss falls to 7-5 overall and 0-1 in league play while Rice improved to 7-7 and 2-0.
Halie Ecker added 12 kills and Lauren Sears had 10 for the Eagles. Lisa Knecht recorded 19 digs followed by Mell with 17 and Ecker 10. Mell also recorded five aces.
Southern Miss finished with 53 kills, 65 digs, seven aces and 52 assists. Rice outhit the Eagles, .213 to .112, while collecting 48 kills, 59 digs, 43 assists and 14.0 team blocks.
The first set consisted of 16 ties and 10 lead changes. Both teams battled back and forth throughout the entire set as neither team could get on a roll. The most any team led was two points. Southern Miss led 22-21 after an Ecker kill, but the Owls tied the set with a USM service error. Mell followed with a kill on the next possession to a 23-22 lead, but Rice got back-to-back Ashleigh McCord kills and the win when the Eagles ended the set with an attack error, 25-23.
The second set started much like the first set with both teams battling to a 17-17 tie. From there, Rice scored six straight points with a McCord kills starting the run. The Owls took a 2-0 lead into the intermission with a 25-20 victory.
Rice came out to the intermission strong and taking a 4-2 lead early to start the third set. Southern Miss fought back and finally tied the set at 11-11. USM was able to push ahead by three, 18-13, using a 7-2 run. Southern Miss held on for the 25-20 win.
The Owls jumped out to a 6-3 lead to start the fourth set. Following a USM timeout, Lauren Broom sparked a 4-1 run to knot the score at 7-7. After each team traded points, Rice retook the lead for good on a USM service error and back-to-back kills by Laurie McNamara for the 11-8 lead. Southern Miss cut the lead to one, 17-16, but Rice took advantage of another Eagle service error and an ace to keep USM at bay. USM made one final run late and after a Rice timeout, the Owls were able to take the 25-22 win.
McCord led Rice with 14 kills and McNamara chipped in 12. Tracey Lam recorded a match-high 23 digs.
The two teams with play again Saturday at 7 p.m.
