Owls Fall to Illinois in Rice Invitational I Finale

Sunday, September 6

Houston, Texas

2 PM

Rice University

5-1,0-0American

Illinois

3-2,0-0Big Ten

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Illinois	25	25	25	3
Rice	18	19	14	0

Owls Fall to Illinois in Rice Invitational I Finale

9/6/2026 4:24:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Kendyll Morris (km215@rice.edu)

HOUSTON — Rice volleyball fell 3-0 to Illinois on Sunday at Tudor Fieldhouse, marking its first loss of the season and closing out Rice Invitational I.

The Owls (5-1) dropped the match 25-18, 25-19 and 25-14. Rice hit .198 as a team, while Illinois finished at .494.

Sydnee Peterson led the Owls with seven kills, while Jordan Hummel recorded a team-high 11 digs. Kaia Mateo finished with 17 assists and Savannah Skopal added 11.

Postgame Reaction – Head Coach Genny Volpe
"I thought Illinois played a great match. We didn't sustain enough consistent play on the defensive or offensive side to win the match. I think our middles offensively did a great job tonight and we can build off of that for sure. Jordan Hummel settled in and did a nice job both in serve receive and defense. Overall I would like to see us perform stronger on the defensive side and transition to score better and I think that would've made a big difference. Moving forward I think this was a great opportunity for us to play a very competitive team out of the Big Ten conference and we should be able to take a lot of good information out of this match moving forward."

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Set
Rice kept the opening set within reach early, tying the score at six on a Mateo dump. Following a Rice timeout, Peterson responded with a kill to bring the Owls within three at 13-10. Rice continued to battle but was unable to find a consistent offensive rhythm, hitting .195 in the set before Illinois closed out the frame 25-18.

Second Set
Rice opened the second set with the first point before Illinois responded with a 6-0 run. The Owls settled in following a timeout, answering with back-to-back points to cut the deficit to three at 6-3. Rice remained within striking distance through the middle portion of the set. Arissa Smith came up with back-to-back plays late in the frame to bring the Owls within three, but Illinois maintained its lead and finished the set 25-19.

Third Set
Illinois carried its momentum into the final set, but Rice stayed competitive early. Freshman Declan Eastman recorded an ace to help the Owls tie the set before Illinois regained the lead. The Owls hit .115 in the final frame as Illinois finished at .778 to close out the match 25-14.

UP NEXT
The Owls will return to Tudor Fieldhouse to host Rice Invitational II, Sept. 11-13. Rice will face Louisville, Creighton and UNI during the three-day tournament.