Florida Atlantic Drops Four-Set Battle Against Rice

Sunday, October 4

Boca Raton, Fla.

1 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

9-6,2-2American

Rice

8-8,2-2American

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Rice	26	16	25	25	3
Fla. Atlantic	24	25	18	18	1

10/4/2026 6:22:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic Owls dropped a four-set battle, 3-1 (24-26, 25-16, 18-25, 18-25), to the Rice Owls on Sunday at Abessinio Court at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

The Owls fall to 9-6 overall and 2-2 in American play, while Rice moves to 8-8 on the season and 2-2 in league play.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Florida Atlantic and Rice went back and forth to open the match. FAU led 13-10, before Rice responded with five unanswered to hold a 15-13 lead at the opening media break. The home Owls started chipping away at Rice's advantage, producing a 5-3 run to tie up the set at 18 after a kill from Maya Van Heyst. Rice retook the lead 20-19, but then FAU scored three unanswered off a pair of kills from Sequoia Layne and a block assist from Layne and Sara Gamboa to lead 22-20 and force Rice to call its first timeout of the match. Another kill from Layne gave FAU set point at 24-23, however, Rice scored three unanswered to close the first, 26-24, and take the opening 1-0 lead.

After the second opened to a 9-7 Rice lead, FAU went on a 6-2 run to retake the lead 13-11, capped off by another Van Heyst kill. Rice knotted things up once again at 13-13, but FAU dominated the rest of the way, outscoring Rice 12-3 through the remainder of the second to take the decisive 25-16 win, capped off by back-to-back kills from Olivia Hart, and even up the match at one apiece, 1-1.

Rice opened the third on a 10-6 run to force an early FAU timeout. The Rice Owls extended their lead to six, 15-9, at the third set technical break. FAU looked to try and battle back into the set, closing the gap to three at 19-16 after a kill from Anna Hartman and capitalizing on a Rice hitting error, but Rice responded with four unanswered to spark a 6-2 set-closing run, taking the third 25-18 and retaking the 2-1 match lead.

After battling through a 9-9 tie, Rice produced a 6-1 run to force FAU to call a timeout and take the 15-10 lead at the fourth-set technical break. The homestanding Owls chipped away once again at Rice's advantage, closing back within two at 18-16 after kills from Hart and Hartman, but FAU just couldn't fully close the gap as Rice broke away off a 7-2 run to take the fourth, 25-18, and close out the four-set match.

STATS & NOTES

Hart led FAU offensively, posting her third double-double of the season with a team-high 15 kills and 11 digs, hitting .382, while also adding two blocks, two assists, and an ace.
Van Heyst led the home team in assists, dishing out a team-high 34, as well as adding six digs and five kills.
Zoe Winford had another strong defensive performance, tying a career-best 17 digs for the second straight contest.
As a team, Florida Atlantic held advantages over Rice in kills, 55-54, and in blocks, 13-9.

GALLERY

Gallery: (10-4-2026) VB vs. Rice (Oct. 4)

PRESS CONFERENCE

UP NEXT
FAU now heads back on the road, opening a two-game road trip on Friday, Oct. 9 at Temple. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. at McGonigle Hall and on ESPN+.

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