HOUSTON -- Wichita State claimed the opening set but could not slow down Rice's Emilia Weske as the Owls rallied for a 23-25, 25-13, 25-21, 25-22 win on Saturday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Weske finished with a match-high 21 kills, hitting .327 in the process. She had 18 of her 21 terminations over the final three sets, including nine in the third set alone.

The Shockers (20-8, 14-4) led the entire way in the opening frame, but had to make a series of clutch plays down the stretch to salt it away. Rice cut a 20-15 deficit to 20-19 with four consecutive points, but kills from Morgan Stout, Emerson Wilford, Barbara Koehler and Natalie Foster helped the Shockers reach set point with a 24-22 lead. A kill from Rice's Lola Foord gave WSU no margin for error, but Koehler slammed the ensuing point through the block to give Wichita State the first set win.

Rice (18-10, 12-6) dominated the second set, pulling away from a 6-6 tie with a 5-0 run and using another 6-0 run later in the set to extend the lead to 21-10. The Shockers hit .000 in the set to Rice's .429 as the Owls evened the match at one set apiece.

Weske's nine kills helped Rice surge past the Shockers late in the third set. Brooklyn Leggett's kill gave WSU a 19-18 lead, but the Owls scored five straight, including two Weske terminations, to seize the initiative at 23-19. Two consecutive Wichita State points cut the lead to 23-21 but a service error and another Weske kill gave Rice the 25-21 win.

In the fourth, WSU trailed 21-16 but pulled to within 23-22 on kills from Foster and Brylee Kelly. A Rice block followed by a kill from Cindy Tchounangwa sealed the match for the Owls.

Foster starred for the Shockers in defeat, racking up 17 kills on 29 attempts while hitting .448. Stout joined her in double-digits with 10 terminations of her own, while Koehler contributed nine. Izzi Strand had 46 assists and 16 digs, while Gabi Maas piled up 18 digs at libero.

Wichita State concludes the regular season on Wednesday night against UAB. First serve from Charles Koch Arena is scheduled for 7:00 pm.