HOUSTON — Rice volleyball heads to Fort Worth for a pair of ranked matchups, taking on No. 5 SMU on Thursday before facing No. 13 TCU on Friday.
Match 10
What: Rice (6-3) vs. No. 5 SMU (6-2)
When: Thursday, September 17 at 6:30 p.m. CT
Where: Fort Worth, TX
Stadium: Schollmaier Arena
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Series Information: Rice leads 25-15
Match 11
What: Rice (6-3) vs. No. 13 TCU (6-2)
When: Friday, September 18 at 6:30 p.m. CT
Where: Fort Worth, TX
Stadium: Schollmaier Arena
Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Series Information: Rice leads 9-8
Notes
• The Owls defeated #15 Creighton 3-1 to close out the Rice Invitational II. The win marked their first ranked win since 2023.
• This past week the Owls went 1-2 falling 3-1 to #5 Louisville and 3-0 to UNI.
• Sophomore Mari Furoyama was named the American Conference Defensive Player of the Week and Kaia Mateo earned honorable mention.
• Since 2019, the Owls have recorded six Top 25 victories. The last time Rice defeated two ranked opponents in a single season was in 2015, when the Owls defeated No. 22 WKU and No. 23 Colorado.
• The Owls opened the season with a five-match winning streak, their best start since 2019, when Rice opened the season 9-0.
• Head Coach Genny Volpe is in her 23rd season with the Owls and is the school’s all-time
leader in total wins (440) and winning percentage (.657).
Rice vs. SMU
• The Owls are 10-11 on the road against the Mustangs.
• Rice is 6-4 in its last 10 matchups against SMU. In the most recent meeting, the Owls fell 3-2 at SMU in 2023.
Rice vs TCU
• Head coach Genny Volpe‘s daughter, Alice Volpe, is the starting libero for the Horned Frogs.
• The Owls are 2-5 when facing TCU on the road.
• Rice is 4-6 in the last 10 matchups. In the last matchup the Owls took a set off the Horned Frogs at home in the 3-1 loss.
Next Up
• The Owls will head to College Station to take on No. 15 Texas A&M on Tuesday, Sept. 22.