DALLAS – No. 4 seed Baylor defeated Rice in a five-set thriller (16-25, 25-22, 25-23, 14-25, 15-11) at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. WKU fell to the No. 3 seed Kentucky (17-25, 16-25, 21-25), in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky, ending the season for the Owls and Hilltoppers on Friday evening.
 
The Owls closed out their outstanding season as the C-USA Conference Champion and an 27-4 overall record. Rice matched up with the Bears after defeating Colorado in four sets in the NCAA First Round.
 
Overall, the Owls had 72 kills, 74 digs and a .289 hitting percentage. Anota Adekunle was the leading scorer with 22 kills on a .419 hitting clip. Danyle Courtley recorded her first double-double of the season with 15 kills and a season-high 12 digs. C-USA Setter of the Year Carly Graham tallied 56 assists and seven digs. C-USA Libero of the Year Nia McCardell and Gaby Mansfield tied for a team-high 17 digs. Ellie Bichelmeyer added 14 kills, while Sahara Maruska posted 12.
 
WKU ends their exceptional season with an overall record of 29-4, along with a perfect 14-0 mark in conference play. As the top seed, WKU claimed the C-USA Regular Season title. The Hilltoppers swept Bowling Green in the NCAA First Round before facing the Wildcats.
 
Paige Briggs led the Hilltoppers in kills with 10 and seven digs, while Katie Isenbarger had a team-high four blocks along with five kills. C-USA Freshman of the Year Callie Bauer recorded 31 assists, seven digs and two kills. Lauren Matthews added nine kills for the Hilltoppers.