Volleyball Sweeps Away Southern Miss

Friday, October 25

Hattiesburg, Miss

7 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

11-7, 5-2

Southern Miss

1-21. 0-8

FAU

Southern Miss

2018 FAU Women's Volleyball vs Florida International

Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

10/25/2019 11:11:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - A career night from libero Kori Varney helped the Florida Atlantic University volleyball team record its third sweep in a row with a straight set (25-15, 25-18, 25-22) victory over Southern Miss on Friday night. The Owls are now 11-7 overall, including a 5-2 Conference USA mark.

Key Plays
Three straight FAU points helped the Owls create an 8-4 lead early in the first set. The Eagles (1-21, 0-8) had narrowed the margin to two, 12-10, when FAU reeled off a 13-5 run to take the opening frame.

After an early battle for control, set number two fell into a pattern of the Eagles digging into FAU's modest cushion, followed by the Owls reestablishing control. Five consecutive FAU points gave the Owls a 16-9 advantage, and the lead remained at least three points the rest of the way. A Sydney Riggs service ace gave FAU a two sets to none edge.

The Owls created separation early in the third set, building a 12-6 lead early on. The margin was seven at 23-16, before the Eagles scored six unanswered points to pull within a point. However, a USM attack error and Cailea Gibbs kill ended any hopes of an Eagle rally.

Notables

The sweep was the seventh of the year for the Owls.
Kori Varney collected a career-high 22 digs, three more than her previous best, which also came against USM, back in 2016
The 22 digs also tied Sydney Nemtuda for the most by an FAU player this season
Sigourney Kame led the Owls in kills, with eight
Fellow seniors Jordan Yauch and Massiel Matos chipped in with seven kills each
Zuri Smith had six kills and five total blocks, Cailea Gibbs posted six kills and four blocks of her own, while Sydney Nemtuda tallied 11 digs to go along with her six kills
Stephanie Young registered 20 assists and six digs
Nikki Lakman totaled 17 assists

Quotable
FAU Head Coach Fernanda Nelson
"We played well today. Kori had an incredible game and our serving and defense was very efficient tonight."

What's Next
The Owls travel to UAB on Sunday, Oct. 27. The match starts at 2 p.m. Eastern. Links to live stats and video are available at fausports.com. Live updates will be posted to the team's official Twitter account, @FAUVolleyball.