Rice Clinches Common Season Title With Win Over FAU

HOUSTON – The Rice volleyball crew secured a share of the American convention regular-season title with a 3-0 sweep of Florida Atlantic on Sunday at Tudor Fieldhouse.
 
Rice (17-8, 13-1 American) additionally clinched the No. 1 seed within the American Conference Tournament after defeating FAU (17-10, 8-6). The Owls prolonged their successful streak to 12 matches.
 
Taylor Preston led Rice with 16 kills, whereas freshman Aaliyah Smith added 11. Kaia Mateo recorded 37 assists.
 
Defensively, Darby Harris paced the Owls with 17 digs, and Gaby Mansfield added 12. Lademi Ogunlana led on the internet with 5 blocks.
 

Postgame Reaction – Head Coach Genny Volpe
“I am extremely proud of the resilience this team has shown all season and can’t think of a more fitting way for this senior class to celebrate their last match at home. We have more work to do, but I’m definitely proud of this entire team for the effort they put in daily, and we look forward to finishing strong next weekend to close out the regular season.”
 

How It Happened
First Set
FAU took an early lead earlier than Rice tied it, and the groups traded factors till the Owls went on a 4-0 run to take a 13-10 benefit. FAU pulled even once more, however Rice closed sturdy for a 25-20 win. Smith led Rice with 5 kills within the opening body, because the crew hit .382 to start out the match.
 
Second Set
Rice struck first, however FAU answered to tie it at 9-9. Freshman Mari Furoyama led a 9-0 Rice run capped by an Ogunlana kill. FAU responded with a brief run of its personal, however Ric held on for a 25-19 victory, limiting FAU to a .100 hitting share.
 
Third Set
The last set was tightly contested, with little separation between the groups. There the place 16 tie scores and 5 lead adjustments within the set. Rice rallied late to tie it at 23-23 earlier than two FAU errors sealed the 26-24 set and the sweep. Preston led the set with 9 kills.
 

Up Next
Rice concludes the common season on the street at Wichita State and North Texas. Both matches will stream on ESPN+.