Box Score | Photo Gallery 

BOWLING GREEN, Kentucky – Fans were on the edge of their seats as the No. 2 seed and 22^nd-ranked Rice knocked off No. 1 and 20^th-ranked WKU (22-25, 25-22, 22-25, 28-26, 15-11) in a thrilling five-set match to claim the 2022 Lockshield Partners Conference C-USA Championship title at the E.A. Diddle Arena on WKU’s campus. 

With the victory, which snapped a five-match losing streak to the Hilltoppers for Rice, which clinched its first automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship since 2018.

Rice’s Carly Graham, the league’s Setter of the Year, was selected as the MVP of the tournament for the first time in her career as an Owl. The senior setter registered her 10^th double-double of the season, compiling season-highs in assists (64) and digs (19). Fifth-year middle blocker Anota Adekunle earned her third All-Tournament Team honor after being the leading scorer for the Owls with 15 kills on a .370 hitting clip and added two blocks. Sahara Maruska and Nia McCardell were also both named to the C-USA All-Tournament Team. Maruska recorded her eighth double-double with 13 kills and 17 digs while, McCardell had 19 digs and chipped in with eight assists. Senior Satasha Kostelecky led the Owls in blocks with seven. 

WKU’s Lauren Matthews was selected to the All-Tournament Team for the fourth consecutive year as she led the Hilltoppers with 27 kills, posting a .407 hitting clip and had four blocks. Paige Briggs also earned her fourth All-Tournament Team honors as she recorded a double-double, her fourth this season, putting down 20 kills with 17 digs. Senior Katie Isenbarger earned her first All-Tournament selection leading the Hilltoppers in blocks with eight and tallied 10 kills, hitting .368. C-USA Freshman of the Year Callie Bauer had 63 assists and four digs, while Freshman Abby Schaefer contributed a team-high 19 digs along with two service aces. 

Rice defensive efforts ultimately led them to become victorious, out-digging WKU 90 to 76. As a team, the Owls had a hitting percentage of .280 on 78 kills and nine team blocks. 

The Owls and C-USA teams on the hunt for an at-large bid now await the 2022 NCAA Division 1 Selection Show on Sunday, November 27, at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU, where they will learn who they will face in the first round as part of the 64-team field. The first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament will be played December 1-3, at campus sites.

2022 C-USA All-Tournament Team 
Carly Graham, Rice - MVP 
Paige Briggs, WKU 
Katie Isenbarger, WKU 
Lauren Matthews, WKU 
Anota Adekunle, Rice 
Sahara Maruska, Rice 
Nia McCardell, Rice 
 
2022 C-USA Volleyball Championship 
November 18-20, 2022 – Bowling Green, Kentucky (hosted by WKU) 
 
Friday, November 18 – Quarterfinals 
Match 1: (1) WKU 3, (8) Middle Tennessee 0
Match 2: (4) North Texas 3, (5) UAB 2 
Match 3: (2) Rice 3, (7) FIU 0
Match 4: (3) UTEP 3, (6) Charlotte 0 
 
Saturday, November 19 – Semifinals 
Match 5: (1) WKU 3, (4) North Texas 0 
Match 6: (2) Rice 3, (3) UTEP 0 
 
Sunday, November 20 – Championship Match 
Match 7: (2) Rice 3, (1) WKU 2