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Box Score.htm
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RENO, Nev. The fifth seeded Rice Owls fell to fourth seeded San Jose State, 30-32, 30-26, 30-28, 23-30, 15-9 in the second match of the 2002 Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament. The Owls (19-12, 8-5), will continue their season next week in Albuquerque for a tournament at New Mexico. The Spartans (14-14, 7-6) will square off with top seeded Hawaii at 5:00 p.m. (PT) in the semifinals.
Down by as many as four points in the first game, Rice fought back to win the first set, 32-30. Rebeca Pazo reached the double-digit kill mark in the first period, leading all hitters with 10 kills and a .600 hitting percentage. Rice out-hit San Jose State .426 (24-4-47) to .354 (21-4-48) to take the first game. The Owls out-blocked the Spartans two to none, led by two block assists from Rebekah Neal.
San Jose State hitting came alive in game two, led by five kills apiece from Stephanie Pascucci and Fran Pozzi. The Owls hit .122 (13-8-41) to the Spartans .163 (19-12-43), with four of Rices 13 kills coming at the hands of Scott. Rices block was again solid, as the Blue and Gray put up eight, including two solos from Briana Cook. Despite a close second game, the Owls fell 30-26.
Despite out-hitting and out-blocking the Spartans in the third set, Rice couldnt pull out the win. The Owls hit .308 (17-5-39) to San Jose States .244 (18-7-45), and put up four blocks to the Spartans three. Pazo led all hitters in the third period, knocking down seven kills on 19 attempts with no errors (.368). SJSUs Kimberly Noble led the Spartans to the 30-28 game three victory with six of their 18 kills.
Rice won game four off a service ace from freshman Elizabeth Tomasovic, one of four aces in the fourth game for the Owls. In Rices 30-23 game four victory, Pazo hit .200 behind six of the Owls 15 kills.
San Jose State hit .625 (11-1-16) in the fifth game to shut the Owls out and end their tournament hopes. The Spartans knocked down 11 kills in the final period, and held the Owls to a .059 hitting percentage (4-3-17). SJSU won the fifth period 15-9.
For the match, Rice hit .247 (73-26-190), led by a career-high 28 kills from Pazo. The 2002 first team all-WAC selection hit .323, served up two aces and hit the court for 13 digs to record her 17th double-double of the season. Rice served up 11 aces in the match, and out-blocked the Spartans 18.5 to 10, marking the 21st time this season Rice has out-blocked its opponent.
The Spartans were led by Pozzi and Kimberly Noble who had 23 kills apiece. SJSU hit .254 (84-33-201) and served up six aces.
San Jose State will now face top seeded Hawaii in the first semifinals match beginning at 5:00 p.m. (PT).