Rice University
North Texas
PREVIEW: AAC Championship Run Begins on Friday, November 22
11/21/2024 3:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Location: Wichita, Kansas (Charles Koch Arena)
Tournament: AAC Championship
Video Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Series: Rice leads, 20-8
Last Meeting: UNT won, 3-2 (Nov. 17, 2024)
WICHITA, Kan. - The second-seeded Rice Owls volleyball team is set to begin play in the American Athletic Conference Championship with a rematch of seventh-seeded North Texas on Friday, November 22, at 1:30 p.m. CT.
A NEW SEASON
It's tournament time in the American Athletic Conference, where the top eight squads will battle for three days to claim the AAC crown. Second-seeded Rice opens up with an immediate rematch of the final match of the regular season, taking on the seventh-seeded North Texas Mean Green.
DESERVED RECOGNITION
Three Owls earned four honors in the AAC Postseason Honors, the league announced on Thursday morning. Samarah Hill and Lademi Ogunlana both earned First Team All-Conference honors, while Savanah Skopal earned Second Team All-Conference and All-Freshman Team honors. Skopal one was of three unanimous picks for the All-Freshman team.
THE BRACKET
The tournament opens with No. 6 Florida Atlantic and No. 3 East Carolina on Friday morning. The winner of that match takes on the winner of Rice and UNT in the early match on Saturday morning. On the other side of the bracket, top-seeded South Florida takes on eighth-seeded UAB in another regular season finale rematch at 5 p.m. To close out the first day of the tournament, fourth-seeded and host Wichita State will take on fifth-seeded Tulsa at 7:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP TRADITION
Since 2018, Rice has competed in five conference championships, with this being the sixth (the AAC did not have a conference tournament in 2023). In those five tournaments, Rice has made it to Championship Sunday all five times, winning two of those matches (2018 vs. FIU, 2022 vs. WKU).
QUEEN NIA
Fifth year defensive specialist and libero Nia McCardell is the third player in school history to register 2,000 digs, coming on Sunday, 10/27, at Temple. (1. Tracey Lamb, 07-10, 2,399, 2. Daniela Arenas, 11-14, 2,162).
IN A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
Since 2014, Rice has compiled a 129-31 (.807) record in conference play, including a 74-12 (.864) mark in the previous six seasons.
VERY MINDFUL, VERY DEMI-URE
Middle blocker Lademi Ogunlana cemented herself in the Rice history books against East Carolina as the first player ever to post a 1.000 hitting percentage with 10+ attempts. Ogunlana went 11/11 against the Pirates.
AND THE CHERRY ON TOP
The top seed isn't the only thing that teams are competing for in the American. The regular season champion and the #1 seed in the tournament also gets the privilege of hosting the 2025 AAC Championship on their home floor. Rice last hosted a conference tournament in 2019, when the Conference USA Volleyball Championship was in Tudor Fieldhouse. Prior to that, Rice also hosted conference tournaments in 2016 (C-USA) and 1994 (SWC).
THREE BIG ONES
Rice won its 300th conference match on Friday, October 25, against Tulane. This figure includes all conference Rice has been a part of, including the Southwest Conference, the WAC, Conference USA, and now the American.
