Florida Atlantic University’s women’s volleyball team (12-9, 4-4 AAC) took the trip to Houston, Texas to face the Rice University Owls (13-5, 7-1 AAC), defeating Rice in five sets. This was Rice’s first loss in conference play this season.

In the first set, both teams were able to keep the score even, but it was Rice that would come away with the set with a score of 25-19. FAU junior outside hitter Valeria Rosado led FAU with four kills, while Rice’s senior outside hitter Danyle Courtley led Rice with five kills.

FAU was able to hold the lead for the first half of the second set, but Rice ended up taking home the second set with a score of 25-16. FAU sophomore outside hitter Arianna Beckham led the Owls with three kills. Rice graduate right side Emilia Weske led Rice with eight kills in the second set.

FAU was able to bounce back and avoid the sweep in the third set with a score of 25-18. FAU junior middle blocker Kaila Ru led FAU with four kills. Weske led with three kills for Rice. 

The fourth set was back and forth until the end, with FAU taking the set, evening the field with a score of 25-23. Beckham led FAU with four kills, and Weske had her best set of the night with nine kills.  

In the fifth and final set, FAU completed the reverse sweep and handed Rice their first loss in conference play with a score of 15-12. FAU junior outside hitter Romina Cornelio had the game-winning kill. Beckham and Rosado each had double-digit kills for the Owls, while Weske led both teams with a total of 27 kills.

FAU will travel to Birmingham, Ala. on Friday, Oct. 20 to take on the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers (2-18, 0-8 AAC) in a two-game AAC matchup.  

Courtney Kemper is a contributing writer for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email her at [email protected] or @courtneykemperr on Instagram.