TAMPA, Fla. — Top-seeded Rice outlasted No. 5 seed Wichita State in a five-set semifinal thriller Saturday at The Corral, winning 25–19, 16–25, 25–23, 28–30, 15–12 to advance to the championship match of the 2025 American Volleyball Championship.
 
Rice (21–8) moves on to Sunday’s final, where it will face the winner of No. 3 Tulsa and No. 2 South Florida at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
 
Taylor Preston led the Owls with a match-high 27 kills and added 12 digs, while hitting .297. Aaliyah Smith finished with 14 kills and five digs, and Lademi Ogunlana added 10 kills. Setter Kaia Mateo engineered the offense with 50 assists, while libero Gaby Mansfield anchored the back row with a match-best 38 digs. Rice finished with 14.0 total blocks and sided out at 75% in the deciding fifth.
 
Wichita State (19–11) was carried by the tandem of Sydney Dunning and Brooklyn Leggett, who combined for 41 kills. Dunning delivered 20 kills and 22 digs, while Leggett added 21 kills and eight blocks. Setter Jordan Heatherly posted 57 assists and 15 digs, while libero Gabi Maas finished with 34 digs. The Shockers totaled 13.0 team blocks.
 
Rice controlled the opening frame behind Preston’s seven kills, but Wichita State roared back with a dominant defensive performance, holding Rice to just .041 in the second set to even the score. The third and fourth sets featured 28 tie scores and 12 lead changes, with the Shockers forcing a fifth after a 30–28 marathon fourth frame.
 
In the final set, the Owls held the Shockers to just .043 hitting, finishing with four team blocks.  Preston and Arissa Smith added two kills each in the final set.
 
Rice advances to its first conference final since joining the American and will play Sunday for the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
 
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 3, No. 4 North Texas 0 (25-25, 25-20, 25-18) | Box Score
Game 3 - No. 2 South Florida 3, No. 7 Charlotte 1 (26-24, 25-19, 19-25, 30-28) | Box Score
Game 4 - No. 3 Tulsa 3, No. 6 Florida Atlantic 1 (25-17, 25-17, 21-25, 25-19) | Box Score

Semifinal Games (Saturday, November 22)
Game 5 – No. 1 Rice 3, No. 5 Wichita State 2 (25-19, 16-25, 25-23, 28-30, 15-12) | Box Score
Game 6 – No. 3 Tulsa at No. 2 South Florida (3 pm ET) | ESPN+ | Stats

Final (Sunday, November 23)
Game 7 - Winner Game 6 vs. No. 1 Rice (1 pm ET) | ESPN+ | Stats