Freshman Tyler Henderson recorded 26 kills in the Golden Hurricane's 3-1 loss to Rice in the C-USA Championship match.

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Volleyball Falls in C-USA Championship, 3-1, to Rice

Golden Hurricane led by Henderson's 26 kills and Adams' 28 digs

Nov. 22, 2009

Box Score | Box Score

HOUSTON - Tyler Henderson slammed 26 kills and Jessica Adams recorded 28 digs to lead The University of Tulsa volleyball team, but it was not enough, as the Golden Hurricane fell, 3-1 (23-25, 23-25, 27-25, 23-25), to Rice in the title match of the 2009 C-USA Championship Sunday afternoon at Rice's Tudor Fieldhouse.

Henderson hit .365 in the match and added a pair of blocks, and Jennifer Eichler added 16 kills and 10 digs. Julia Kenealy had five blocks and five kills on the day.

The Golden Hurricane, which falls to 26-7 on the season, hit .210 as a team (63-26-176) with 63 kills, 58 assists, 69 digs and nine blocks. Rice (22-8) hit .241 in the match (61-22-162) with 61 kills, 57 assists, 77 digs and 13 blocks. The Owls also served four aces to six errors, and the Hurricane served up just one ace to eight errors.

"It was a tough match for us," Tulsa Head Coach Ed Allen said. "Rice played outstanding defense and as strong as we've seen them in any of the three matches this year. We hurt ourselves tremendously out of serve-receive and our ability to pass the ball so that our middles and other hitters could be included in the offense. We compounded the problem by not locating the ball to those hitters and giving them an opportunity to use the court. Our hats are off to Rice for playing an extremely competitive match and as strong defensively as I've seen them play.

"Tyler played well again. We have been able to rely on her consistently throughout the year. That's saying a lot for a freshman to be put into that role and to do as much as she does. We're very pleased with our two seniors (Jennifer Eichler and Julia Kenealy) and their performances throughout the course of the year and what they've done to re-establish the program as one of the top programs in the league. Their efforts these two years have been outstanding."

Tulsa had big leads in each of the first two sets, but Rice came back to win both times. The Hurricane fought off the Owls in the third set to extend the match. TU had its sights set on a huge comeback, but Rice took the fourth set and the match.

Tulsa took control early in the first set, taking a 10-6 lead, and extending it to 15-9. However, Rice went on a 9-3 run to tie the score at 18-all, and although the Golden Hurricane went ahead 20-18, the Owls took over the advantage late in the set, and won 25-23.

Tulsa shook off the ending of the first set and began the second strong, once again taking a big early lead at 7-3. Rice pulled to within one at 8-7, but the Golden Hurricane roared ahead to a 19-9 lead behind an 11-2 run. However, once again, the Hurricane was unable to close the set, and the Owls used a 14-4 run to tie the score, 23-23, and closed the set scoring 11 of 12 points.

Tulsa did fight off Rice in the third set, a back-and-forth battle in which the Hurricane's largest lead was three points. TU led, 19-16, but Rice tied the score at 19 apiece, and the teams battled to a 24-24 tie. The Golden Hurricane then scored three of the final four points to win set three and force the fourth set.

In set four, Tulsa fell behind early, 6-3, but fought back to tie the score, 10-10. The Hurricane fell behind again, and trailed, 18-14, before once again rallying to knot the score at 19, determined to extend the match to the fifth and deciding set. TU scored three of the next five points to move ahead, 22-21, and led 23-22 before dropping the last three points, falling, 25-23.

"We have had six matches this year where we have lost by two points in every set," said Allen. "I can tell you in doing this for 18 years, I've never had a season where six of our seven losses were by two points in all three sets."

The Golden Hurricane now awaits its NCAA Tournament fate and a possible at-large bid.

"I think if the (NCAA selection committee) takes a look at our performance over the last 15 or 16 matches, they'll see we're the hottest team in the league," Allen said. "It is in their hands. We had an opportunity today to take it out of their hands."

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