WICHITA, Kan. – The No. 2 Rice Owls came away with a four-set victory (25-18, 22-25, 25-17, 25-19) over No. 7 North Texas to advance to the semifinals of the 2024 American Volleyball Championship on Friday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas.
The Owls improve to 19-7 on the season while the Mean Green move to 10-18.
Samarah Hill finished with a 15 kill, 14 dig double-double to lead the Owls to the first-round victory. Katrina Jensen (12 kills) and Lola Foord (10 kills) both finished with double-digit kills. Fifth year libero Nia McCardell led all players with 29 digs. Lademi Ogunlana was a force at the net, finishing with six blocks.
Rice held the Mean Green to a hitting percentage of just .099 in the match, forcing 28 attacking errors. The Owls hit at a clip of .191 and were paced by freshman setter Savannah Skopal who finished with 38 assists.
Priscilla Jones led North Texas with 13 kills and a .435 attack percentage, while Aryn Johnson finished with a 10 kill, 11 dig double-double.
The Owls will play No. 6 Florida Atlantic in the semifinals on Saturday, November 23 at noon ET/11 a.m. CT on ESPN+
2024 American Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship Schedule
Hosted by Wichita State | Charles Koch Arena | Wichita, Kansas
First Round Games (Friday, November 22)
Game 1 – No. 6 Florida Atlantic 3, No. 3 East Carolina 2 (25-22, 25-27, 21-25, 25-12, 16-14)
Game 2 – No. 2 Rice 3, No. 7 North Texas 1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-17, 25-19)
Game 3 – No. 8 UAB vs. No. 1 South Florida (6 pm ET/5 pm CT) | Stats | ESPN+
Game 4 – No. 5 Tulsa vs. No. 4 Wichita State (8:30 pm ET/7:30 pm CT) | Stats | ESPN+
Semifinal Games (Saturday, November 23)
Game 5 – No. 6 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 2 Rice (12 pm ET/11 am CT) | Stats | ESPN+
Game 6 – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 (3 pm ET/2 pm CT) | Stats | ESPN+
Final (Sunday, November 24)
Game 7 – Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 (1 pm ET/12 pm CT) | Stats | ESPN+
