HOUSTON -- Carli Kolbe led Sam Houston State with 11 kills as Sam Houston State fought Rice in two close sets before falling in three 25-22 25-17 25-13 in a non-conference women's volleyball match Tuesday night.  

Rice's power at the net finally overcame the Bearkats as the Owls totaled 43 kills to 26 for Sam Houston.The Kats led most of the first set, jumping out to a 6-3 start and up 17-14. But after an Sam Houston attack error, Rice rallied to win 11 of the next 16 points to earn the set victory.  

The second set was tied seven times, the last at 9-9. Rice won six straight points to go up 15-9 and finished the set winning 10 of the last 18 points.  

The Owls led wire-to-wire in the third set, going up 4-1 and ending the match with a 25-13 set victory.  

Caroline Gill led Rice with 10 kills. The Owls totaled a hitting percentage of .330 while Sam Houston, with 23 hitting errors, could manage only .036  

Both teams now stand 4-1 for the year. The Bearkats will travel to Hattiesburg, MS, where they will play in the Southern Mississippi Invitational Friday and Saturday.

Box Score:
  Rice Owls def. Sam Houston St. 25-22,25-17,25-13   

 Sam Houston St. (4-1) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Kolbe, Carli 11-1-0; Ferguson, Anna 6-0-3; Kaleh, Jamie 3-0-0; Phillips, Katie 2-2-1; Black, Kim 2-0-1; Stewart, Kelli 2-0-1; Loving, Kym 0-0-1; Totals 26-3-4.0. (Assists) - Loving, Kym 23. (Dig leaders) - Loving, Kym 10; Kolbe, Carli 6    

Rice Owls (4-1) (Kills-aces-blocks) - GILL, Caroline 10-0-1; BOGAN, Natalie 9-0-6; COLE, Nancy 8-0-1; BOULAVSKY, Jessie 7-0-1; McCLEAN, Jenn 5-0-1; WHITE, Megan 1-0-0; SCHAMUN, Meredith 1-0-2; LAM, Tracey 1-1-0; YUAN, Lin 1-0-0; GRIGSBY, Channing 0-1-0; Totals 43-2-7.0.  (Assists) - SCHAMUN, Meredith 32. (Dig leaders) - LAM, Tracey 13; SCHAMUN, Meredith 9   Site: Houston, Texas (Tudor Fieldhouse)
  Date: Sep 01, 2009   Attend: 281   Time: 1:22   
  Referees: Elaine Crane, Fred Buehler