Owls Sweep Charlotte

Sunday, October 13

Boca Raton, Fla.

12 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

-97, 32 CUSA

Charlotte

-1110, 14 CUSA

CHA

FAU

Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

10/13/2019 3:36:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – After suffering its first home loss in almost two years, the Florida Atlantic University volleyball team bounced back with a sweep (25-23, 25-13, 25-23) of a persistent Charlotte squad on Sunday. The Owls are now 9-7 and 3-2 in Conference USA this season.

Key Plays
The Owls found themselves in a hole early in the first set, trailing 8-4. FAU eventually tied the score at 12 on a Sydney Nemtuda kill, but Charlotte (11-10, 1-4) regained control and went up 18-15. The 49ers' lead was still three at 21-18, but seniors Jordan Yauch and Massiel Matos sandwiched kills around a Nemtuda service ace to tie the score. Cailea Gibbs found an open spot on the Charlotte side of the net to put the Owls up 22-21. Back-to-back points for Charlotte made the score 23-22 in its favor. However, Yauch and Matos once again put away kills, this time wrapped around a 49er attack error to finish the rally and take the set for FAU.

Strong serving by the Owls was the story in set number two. Nemtuda, Camryn Vogler and Matos all enjoyed extended service runs as FAU was able to pull away early. An Emily Hise kill ended the frame with a 25-13 victory.

The third set was back and forth most of the way. Charlotte got out to a quick start, taking an 8-5 edge. The Owls found their rhythm and used a 5-0 run to go up 14-11. The 49ers answered and went up 17-15. FAU tied the match, but Charlotte went back up by two, 23-21. Gibbs and Yauch teamed up on a block that kickstarted a rally, capped off by a pair of kills from Matos, to complete the sweep for the Owls.

Notables

Massiel Matos had a match-high 10 kills and added eight digs
Cailea Gibbs posted nine kills and six total blocks
Sigourney Kame tallied nine kills of her own
Sydney Nemtuda finished just shy of a double-double with nine kills and 14 digs to go along with four service aces
Nikki Lakman dished out 25 assists and collected nine digs
Kori Varney registered 12 digs

Quotable
Junior Setter Nikki Lakman
"We've been doing a really good job of just sticking together. The score can go up and down, but we try not to play by the score, we just play hard on each point.

What's Next
The Owls wrap up their three match homestand against UTEP on Sunday, Oct. 20. Match time is set for noon. Live stats and live video will be available at fausports.com. Live updates will be posted to the team's official Twitter account, @FAUVolleyball.