Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Continued Success: Volleyball Season Recap
12/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
For the second season in a row, the Florida Atlantic University volleyball team posted 18 wins. The Owls went 18-11 in 2015 with a 10-6 mark in Conference USA matches to earn the no. 5 seed in the C-USA Tournament.
"It was a great season," said FAU Head Volleyball Coach Fernanda Nelson. "The program is definitely headed in the right direction."
The Owls opened the season by hosting the FAU Invitational. FAU swept all four of its matches over the weekend to clinch the title. Nathalie Rosado and Gabriela Martin were named to the all-tournament team, and Brittney Brown was named tournament MVP. The 4-0 start was the best since 2005. From there, FAU kicked off a month-long road trip. Brown was named to two more all-tournament teams, while junior college transfer Maja Ristic earned a spot on one.
"We had a great non-conference schedule which really gave us confidence going into league play," said Nelson.
After losing two of their first three C-USA matches, the Owls recovered to win six in a row and didn't lose a set at home until Oct. 21 against Southern Miss, when it took four sets to beat the Golden Eagles. In FAU's next match, against rival FIU, the Owls went up 2-0, but lost in five. The loss was doubly damaging as Ristic suffered what proved to be a season-ending injury.
Despite the loss of their kills leader, FAU won three of its last four regular season matches to earn a berth in the conference tournament for the third season in a row, including a Lousiana Tech sweep in the final home match to send out the four seniors on a high note.
"We had an amazing group of seniors that led us to an amazing season," said Nelson. "Their leadership helped us continue to grow over the course of the year."
Even though the season ended with a four-set loss to North Texas, there was still plenty to be proud of for the 2015 Owl squad. Ristic was named First Team All C-USA despite missing the final seven matches of the season. Brown made the Second Team, matching her accomplishment from the previous year and Martin was named Freshman of the Week twice and was an All-Freshman team selection. The achievements were even more remarkable because Kristi Tekavec missed the entire season and Katarina Stepanovic, who was a First Team All C-USA choice in 2014, played only two sets due to injury.
"Inspite of all the injuries, we were still able to have an outstanding season," said Nelson. "That shows the roster depth we've developed."
The future is bright for the Owls, as they are expected to return 10 players who have seen extended action in an FAU uniform.
"We have a terrific core coming back and we should be even better in 2016."
