Rice Falls to Florida in NCAA Tournament First Round

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DALLAS – The seventh-seeded Rice Owls started hot but fell to Florida in straight sets, 27-25, 25-23, 25-19, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at Moody Coliseum.

Rice (21-10, 15-1 American) saw its strong season end as Florida (16-11, 9-6 SEC) came alive to hold off the Owls.

Senior Taylor Preston led Rice with 12 kills, and Kellen Dorotik posted a team-high .333 hitting percentage. Kaia Mateo recorded 34 assists, Gaby Mansfield had 16 digs, and Lademi Ogunlana tallied four blocks.

Postgame Reaction – Head Coach Genny Volpe
"I'm really proud of the season we had. We started out strong and had a great game plan, but once Arissa went down, it rattled us a bit and it took us too long to recover. We made some good adjustments and played Rice volleyball for much of the match, but it just wasn't enough today. A big shout-out to all of our seniors for incredible careers and for continuing to elevate Rice volleyball. The future is bright, and the legacy they're leaving is one of resilience, grit, integrity and a team-first mentality. I couldn't be prouder."

How it happened
First set
Rice opened the match with strong momentum, building a 15-6 lead. But after middle blocker Arissa Smith left with an injury, the Florida Gators capitalized and rallied to tie the set at 22. The teams went back and forth before the Gators closed out the opening set 27-25. Kellen Dorotik led Rice with five kills and a .556 hitting percentage in the first frame. The Owls hit .145 in the set.

Second set
The Owls started slowly and struggled to build momentum, trailing early in the second set. They put together small runs to tie the score four times, but the Gators pulled away for a 25-23 win. Rice hit .195 in the set, while Florida hit .250.

Third set
Rice took a quick 3-1 lead before Florida tied the match at 5-5. Despite the strong start, the Gators controlled the scoring runs throughout the set. The Owls dropped the final set 25-19 and hit .107.

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