After fighting back from two games down on Saturday, thewomen’s volleyball team defeated visiting Rice 3-2. The matchwas the first time the Lady Mustangs have dropped two games sincethe Sept. 20 game against Maryland. The Mustangs opened the dayspotting Rice a two game lead thanks in part to a .225 hittingpercentage and 17 errors. Early on the Mustangs had no answer forRice junior outside hitter Rebeca Pazo. The Venezuelan national ledthe Owl attack, posting 10 kills and 15 defensive digs in the firsttwo games. The Ponies dropped both games 25-30 and went into thelocker room quite frantically.
“As a team we needed to recover and keep on going,”head coach Lisa Seifert said. “As soon as we lost focus, wemade errors, and we needed to erase the errors.”
In the third game the Mustangs came out like a brand new team,deciding to change uniforms to get rid of any reminder of thehorrible first two games. The Ponies pounded out 20 kills with a.356 hitting percentage. The Lady Mustangs defeated the Owls forthe 30-26 victory and found new life in the match.
Junior outside hitter Beth Karasek said a little pep talk wasall the team needed.
“We just looked at each other and said we believe, nowlets play,” she said. “We came out with much moreemotion and intensity in the third game.”
Coach Seifert can take credit for the fourth game. After makingsome blocking changes and moving players around, the Mustangsfinally shut the door on Pazo’s offensive onslaught.
“We made a whole change as a team for the lastgames,” Seifert said. “We came out with a new attitude,a new game plan, and we focused on the goals we haveset.”
In the fourth game, the Mustangs looked more like a team on acurrent eight-game win streak. The Ponies recorded 24 defensivedigs and held Pazo to only three kills with a dismal .143 hittingpercentage. Sophomore middle blocker Kelly Larkan lead the Mustangoffensive charge, posting five kills. The 30-26 win tied the matchat two games.
In game five, the Ponies exploded for an early 10-2 lead andnever gave up. The Mustangs held on to win 15-11 and take the matchthree games to two.
Sophomore setter Jessica Mihm was confident in the team’sability.
“We might have been a little too confident because of howwell we have been playing,” Mihm said. “Once we relaxedand started to play, we became a hard team to beat.”
The Ponies head on a benchmark road trip this week. On Wednesdaythe Mustangs play San Jose State, and on Saturday the Lady Mustangstake the conference win streak to Hawaii.
