Rice Volleyball Outlasts North Texas in Five Sets
Rice Volleyball Outlasts North Texas in Five Sets to Extend Win Streak
Rice volleyball secured a five-set victory over North Texas on Friday night at the UNT Volleyball Center, extending its winning streak to six matches with scores of 27-25, 25-21, 23-25, 17-25, and 15-13.
The Owls (13-8, 7-2 American) claimed the opening two sets before North Texas rallied to take the third and fourth frames. Rice sealed the match in the fifth set, finishing with a .224 hitting percentage while holding the Mean Green to .220.
Freshman Ashlyn Seay paced the Rice offense with a career-high 23 kills. Amalia Simmons contributed 13 kills, while Savannah Skopal registered a double-double with 49 assists and 10 digs. On the defensive end, Jordan Hummel recorded 24 digs, and Ellie Schneider led the net defense with a career-high six blocks.
The opening set featured tight scoring as neither team established a lead larger than two points. North Texas held a 21-19 advantage before Seay notched back-to-back kills to tie the frame at 23. After ties at 24 and 25, Schneider provided a crucial kill and Simmons converted the set point for a 27-25 Rice win, during which the Owls hit .382.
North Texas seized an early 9-6 lead in the second set before Rice mounted a 6-0 run. A subsequent 4-0 surge featuring a Skopal service ace and a Schneider kill stretched the margin to 21-15. Despite a late push by the Mean Green, Rice closed out a 25-21 decision to capture a 2-0 match lead.
The North Texas volleyball team rallied from two sets down but falls in five to Rice.
The momentum shifted in the third set as North Texas opened with three consecutive points. Rice battled back to level the score at nine, later using a 5-0 run to move ahead 17-14. Back-to-back kills from Sydnee Peterson pushed the Owls up 22-19, but the Mean Green answered with five straight points to secure a 25-23 win, capped by a final kill from Simmons keeping Rice temporarily alive before the set concluded.
North Texas carried that momentum into the fourth set, jumping to an early 5-2 lead and expanding the advantage to 17-11. Kills from Aaliyah Smith and Seay failed to close the gap as the Mean Green rolled to a 25-17 victory, forcing a decisive fifth set.
The final frame remained deadlocked at eight before Rice engineered a 4-0 run sparked by a Smith kill and a solo block from Schneider. Smith tallied three additional kills to push the lead to 14-10. North Texas shaved the deficit to one point before Smith delivered the match-winning kill, finishing the fifth set with five kills as Rice outhit the hosts .276 to .111.
Rice returns home to host Tulsa on Sunday, Oct. 25, with the match scheduled to stream on ESPN+.