University of Houston
Rice
Volleyball Drops Regular Season Finale, 3-0, at Rice
11/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 12, 2009
HOUSTON - The University of Houston volleyball lost their regular season finale, 3-0 (20-25, 22-25, 20-25) to the Rice Owls Thursday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.
With the loss, the Cougars finish the regular season with a 9-22 record and a 6-10 mark in league action. Houston also falls to 58-16 all-time against Rice.
Against the Owls on Thursday night, sophomore Ingrida Zauere led the team with eight kills, while freshman Tara Roenicke had a team-high 19 assists. Zauere also tied junior Amanda Carson with a team-high 16 digs.
The opening set proved to be a set of scoring runs by both teams with Rice starting things off. After splitting points to open the match, the Owls put together a 4-0 run for the 5-1 lead. Houston battled back, however, within two, before Rice would pull away once again, this time to a six point lead, 12-6. The Cougars answered with a 5-0 run, pulling within two points of the lead before a timeout was called from the Rice bench. The Owls scored the first three points out of the break and the Cougar quickly called a second timeout.
UH used that break to regroup and they slowly chipped away at the deficit, tying the score, 19-19. But it would be as close as the Cougars would get, falling 25-20 in the opening set.
Houston came off the bench to an early lead in the second set but the Owls battled back to take a 7-6 lead. The Cougars went on to knot the score, 11-11, before giving up two points to Rice, forcing a timeout from the UH coaching staff. Houston continued to play tough, keeping the score within two as late as 22-20 but the Owls were too much and they would go on to take the second set, 25-22.
When it looked as though the third set would come to an end quickly, Houston went on a 5-1 run to answer the Owls 5-1 lead to tie the score, 6-6. The Cougars played from behind for the remainder of the set after giving up the tie breaking point. The closest they would get would be a two point deficit, 15-13, as the Owls would go on for the sweep, 25-20.
Houston will close out the season on Nov. 20-22 at Tudor Fieldhouse on the campus of Rice University for the 2009 Conference USA Championship. Game times and seeding will be announced at the conclusion of all league regular season action.
