Aug. 29, 2003
SAN DIEGO - After losing a five-game match to UC Riverside earlier in the day, Rice came back to defeat San Diego State, 3-0 (30-25, 30-26, 30-28), Friday evening in Peterson Gym. The match, played as part of this weekend's Aztec Invitational, marked the season opener for the Aztecs.
The Owls were led by the hitting of Rebeca Pazo, who finished the night with 21 kills plus 12 digs, and the blocking of Rebecca Kainz who had eight over the three games. As a team, Rice hit .395 for the match while holding the Aztecs to a .236 hitting percentage.
Junior Kara Moriarty led San Diego State with 14 kills while hitting .444 on the night. Senior Zlatina Anguelova recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs.
Although the team kill totals were almost identical (Rice 55, SDSU 54), the Owls committed only eight hitting errors compared to 21 for the home team and out-blocked SDSU by almost a two-to-one margin (10-5.5).
Game one saw Rice jump out to a 10-6 lead and never look back, led by Pazo's seven kills along with six from teammate Lindsey Carter. The Owls came out on fire, hitting .425 in that game compared to .167 by San Diego State.
The second and third games were much tighter affairs with the team's separated by just a single point a 21-20 in each contest. However, Pazo's hitting down the stretch in both games proved to be the difference.
SDSU concludes play in the 2003 Aztec Invitational on Saturday afternoon (Aug. 30) when it takes on UC Riverside at 1:00 p.m. in Peterson Gym. The Highlanders defeated Rice (30-25, 25-30, 29-31, 30-27, 15-12) in the first game of the tournament Friday afternoon.