Temple University Athletics
Friday, September 26
Houston, TX
7:00 PM EST
Temple University
11-4,1-0American
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Rice University
4-8,0-1American
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Temple
25
12
26
26
15
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Rice
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28
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Photo by: Robin Hsiao
Temple Volleyball Tops Rice in Five to Open American Play
9.26.25 | Women's Volleyball
HOUSTON, TX – Temple volleyball (10-4, 1-0 The American) outlasted Rice (4-7, 0-1 The American) in five sets Friday evening at Tudor Fieldhouse to open conference play. Four Owls registered double-digit kills: Christiana Greene (13), Leia Harper (16), Alyssa Finister (11), and Olivia Hummel (10). Hummel also tallied a double-double from the back row with 10 kills and 13 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (Temple 25, Rice 22)
Temple opened with a 3-0 run for a quick 7-2 advantage.
Freshman Steel Sinai, Harper, and Hummel each added two kills to extend the Cherry & White lead to 13-7.
Hummel halted a 6-0 Rice run with a kill, closing out the frame for a 25-21 Temple win.
The Temple Owls hit .300 in the first set, led by Finister with four kills.
SET 2 (Temple 12, Rice 25)
Siani broke up a 4-0 Rice run with a kill to cut the deficit to 5-3.
Rice pulled away and evened the match with a 25-12 win.
SET 3 (Temple 26, Rice 24)
Trailing by five, back-to-back kills from Hummel and Finister closed the gap to 13-10.
Finister sparked a 5-0 run, highlighted by service aces from Hummel and Harper, to pull Temple within one, 21-20.
Harper delivered the final two points to secure the 26-24 victory.
SET 4 (Temple 26, Rice 28)
Both teams traded points in long rallies early, keeping the score tight at 7-6.
Temple used a 4-0 spurt, fueled by a Finister block and ace, to move ahead 12-8.
After seven set points, Rice claimed the set, 28-26.
SET 5 (Temple 15, Rice 13)
Temple raced out to a 4-1 lead to start the decisive set.
Harper sealed the match by scoring the Owls' final three points in a 15-13 win.
INSIDE THE BOX
Temple recorded five aces in the third set.
Temple finished with a season-high eight aces.
Claudia Rivera set a career-high 23 digs.
Three Temple Owls had double digit kills before the conclusion of the fourth set, Green (10), Harper (11) and Finister (11)
Kills: Leia Harper - 16
Assists: Daniella Gonzalez Murati - 16
Digs: Claudia Rivera - 24
Blocks: Alyssa Finister - 4
UP NEXT
Temple continues its road swing with a trip to New Orleans to face Tulane on Sunday at 2 PM. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (Temple 25, Rice 22)
Temple opened with a 3-0 run for a quick 7-2 advantage.
Freshman Steel Sinai, Harper, and Hummel each added two kills to extend the Cherry & White lead to 13-7.
Hummel halted a 6-0 Rice run with a kill, closing out the frame for a 25-21 Temple win.
The Temple Owls hit .300 in the first set, led by Finister with four kills.
SET 2 (Temple 12, Rice 25)
Siani broke up a 4-0 Rice run with a kill to cut the deficit to 5-3.
Rice pulled away and evened the match with a 25-12 win.
SET 3 (Temple 26, Rice 24)
Trailing by five, back-to-back kills from Hummel and Finister closed the gap to 13-10.
Finister sparked a 5-0 run, highlighted by service aces from Hummel and Harper, to pull Temple within one, 21-20.
Harper delivered the final two points to secure the 26-24 victory.
SET 4 (Temple 26, Rice 28)
Both teams traded points in long rallies early, keeping the score tight at 7-6.
Temple used a 4-0 spurt, fueled by a Finister block and ace, to move ahead 12-8.
After seven set points, Rice claimed the set, 28-26.
SET 5 (Temple 15, Rice 13)
Temple raced out to a 4-1 lead to start the decisive set.
Harper sealed the match by scoring the Owls' final three points in a 15-13 win.
INSIDE THE BOX
Temple recorded five aces in the third set.
Temple finished with a season-high eight aces.
Claudia Rivera set a career-high 23 digs.
Three Temple Owls had double digit kills before the conclusion of the fourth set, Green (10), Harper (11) and Finister (11)
Kills: Leia Harper - 16
Assists: Daniella Gonzalez Murati - 16
Digs: Claudia Rivera - 24
Blocks: Alyssa Finister - 4
UP NEXT
Temple continues its road swing with a trip to New Orleans to face Tulane on Sunday at 2 PM. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+
Team Stats
Temple
Rice
Kills
59
65
Errors
29
23
Attempts
193
186
Hitting %
.155
.226
Points
74.0
84.0
Assists
52
59
Aces
8
8
Blocks
7
11
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
3
Blocks
5
Kills
10
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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