TAMPA, Fla. – Taylor Preston led all players with 14 kills on .317 hitting, while Aaliyah Smith added 13 kills and hit .407 as No. 1 Rice (20–8, 15–1 American) swept No. 8 UTSA in the opening match of the 2025 American Volleyball Championship.
 
With the win, the Owls advance to the American Volleyball Championship semifinals where they await the winner of No. 5 Wichita State and No. 4 North Texas on Saturday, November 22 at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
 
Setter Kaia Mateo steered the attack with 37 assists. Rice out blocked the Roadrunners 7–3 and held UTSA to .175 hitting across the three sets.
 
UTSA (13–15, 6–10) was led by Taylor Gaines, who had a team-high 14 kills on .286 hitting. Ally Tribe added nine kills, and Megan Hawkins recorded 28 assists.
 
Rice opened the match by hitting .394 in the first set and never trailed in the frame. The Owls continued their efficiency with .370 and .421 hitting clips in the next two sets, pulling away from UTSA each time despite late Roadrunner pushes.
 
The Owls controlled the match from the service line as well, totaling 5 aces, including four from Darby Harris.
 
2025 American Conference Volleyball Championship
Hosted by South Florida | The Corral | Tampa, Florida
 
First Round Games (Friday, November 21)
Game 1 - No. 1 Rice 3, No. 8 UTSA 0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-17) | Box Score
Game 2 – No. 5 Wichita State vs No. 4 North Texas (1:30 pm ET) | ESPN+ | Stats
Game 3 - No. 7 Charlotte vs No. 2 South Florida (5 pm ET) | ESPN+ | Stats
Game 4 - No. 6 Florida Atlantic vs No. 3 Tulsa (7:30 pm ET) | ESPN+ | Stats

Semifinal Games (Saturday, November 22)
Game 5 - Winner Game 2 vs. No. 1 Rice (12 pm ET) | ESPN+ | Stats
Game 6 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 (3 pm ET) | ESPN+ | Stats

Final (Sunday, November 23)
Game 7 - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 (1 pm ET) | ESPN+ | Stats