Rice University
11-6,6-2AAC
Florida Atlantic
11-8,3-4AAC
Rice Drops Conference Match at FAU
10/18/2024 11:23:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Rice Owls volleyball team fell in three sets to the Florida Atlantic Owls on Friday evening in Boca Raton, Florida. The set back drops the Owls to 6-2 in conference after starting 6-0 in league play.
Kaitlyn Knobbe led the way offensively for the Rice Owls, registering 14 kills on the night. She was the only Rice player with double-digit kills. Samarah Hill had the next-highest with eight.
Savannah Skopal ended the night with 22 assists, and Kaia Mateo ended with 11, the two accounting oft 33 of the Owls 36 total assists. Nia McCardell ended with two and Gaby Mansfield registered one.
McCardell and Mansfield both led Rice with 21 digs each, with McCardell now only needed 23 more to reach 2,000 digs for her career. Hill also had 14 digs and Darby Harris finished the evening with nine.
Rice recorded 9.0 blocks as a team, with Hill leaded the way with four block assists. Thea Carter and Knobbe both had three assists, while Katrina Jensen and Lademi Ogunlana both had two assists. Knobbe was the only player with a solo block.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE (FAU 25-23)
Rice opened the match with the first point scored on a FAU attack error, but FAU would build a slim lead and hold the one to two point lead for most of the set. The FAU Owls began to extend the lead after Rice cut the lead to 12-11, taking a lead as large as 15-11 before Rice responded. Rice tried to catch up but FAU was a step ahead, scoring to knock out any Rice rallies. FAU again built up a four-point lead at 22-18, but Rice was able to outscore FAU 5-1 to tie the match at 23-23 late in the first set. A FAU block and kill secured the final two points and set FAU up with the first set of the match.
SET TWO (FAU 25-22)
The second set began much like the first one, but both sides traded the lead multiple times, the second set seeing six lead changes in total. After FAU tied the set at 6-6, they went on a 5-0 run to extend the lead to 11-6, and took a lead as large at 13-7 shortly after. Rice used a small run of its own to cut the lead to 13-10, but FAU kept a sizable lead of four to five points through the middle part of the set. Late in the action, FAU took a seven-point lead at 24-17, but Rice rallied with a five point swing of its own. However, the Rice Owls could not get past FAU as a final kill clinched the second set for the home Owls.
SET THREE (FAU 25-21)
Rice took its largest lead of the night to start off the third set, a 4-0 lead thanks to an opening kill and three-straight blocks. FAU fired back with a 4-0 run of its own to tie it up, but Rice showed its determination in the set and kept fighting to hold onto a slim lead, leading by as much as 12-8 toward the middle part of the set. FAU tied the match up at 14-14 and took a 16-14 lead, never relinquishing the lead from that point. Rice ties the match at 17-17, but FAU used a 3-0 run to create more space between the two. Rice cut the lead to 24-21, but one last kill from FAU sealed the match.
UP NEXT
Rice will get a week of rest before hosting Tulane at Tudor Fieldhouse on Friday, October 25. First serve is set for 5 p.m.
