{"id":419019,"date":"2026-10-05T07:42:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T07:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/419019\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T07:42:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T07:42:18","slug":"florida-atlantic-drops-four-set-battle-against-rice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/419019\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Atlantic Drops Four-Set Battle Against Rice"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOCA RATON, Fla. \u2013 The Florida Atlantic Owls dropped a four-set battle, 3-1 (24-26, 25-16, 19-25, 18-25), to the Rice Owls on Sunday at Abessinio Court at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
\n\u00a0
\nThe 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.
\n\u00a0
\nHOW IT HAPPENED
\nFlorida 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<\/a>. Rice retook the lead 20-19, but then FAU scored three unanswered off a pair of kills from Sequoia Layne<\/a> and a block assist from Layne and Sara Gamboa<\/a> 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.
\n\u00a0
\nAfter 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<\/a>, and even up the match at one apiece, 1-1.
\n\u00a0
\nRice 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<\/a> 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.
\n\u00a0
\nAfter 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.
\n\u00a0
\nSTATS & NOTES<\/p>\n


\n\tHart 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.
\n\tVan Heyst led the home team in assists, dishing out a team-high 34, as well as adding six digs and five kills.
\n\tZoe Winford<\/a> had another strong defensive performance, tying a career-best 17 digs for the second straight contest.
\n\tAs a team, Florida Atlantic held advantages over Rice in kills, 55-54, and in blocks, 13-9. <\/p>\n

\u00a0
\nGALLERY<\/p>\n

Gallery: (10-4-2026) VB vs. Rice (Oct. 4) <\/p>\n

\nPRESS CONFERENCE
\n\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nUP NEXT
\nFAU 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+.
\n\u00a0
\nFOLLOW THE OWLS
\nKeep up with everything Florida Atlantic volleyball at FAUSports.com<\/a> and on social media on X<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, and Facebook<\/a>.
\n\u00a0