Owls Down Blazers in Four Sets

Sunday, October 27

Birmingham, Ala.

2 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

-117, 52 CUSA

UAB

-119, 34 CUSA

Florida Atlantic

UAB

Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

10/27/2019 5:20:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A career-high 10 total blocks from Zuri Smith and double-doubles from both Massiel Matos and Sydney Nemtuda led the Florida Atlantic University volleyball team to a four-set win (25-20, 21-25, 25-18, 25-15) over UAB on Sunday. The Owls are now 12-7 overall and 5-2 in Conference USA.

Key Plays
The two teams were neck-and-neck in the first set. UAB called timeout after a modest rally gave FAU a 12-8 lead. When play resumed, the Blazers got to within two, but couldn't fully close the gap, as FAU won 25-20. Matos had seven kills in the frame.

UAB used a 6-2 run to take a 13-8 lead in set number two. The margin grew to as many as seven at 21-14. The Owls got the margin down to three, but a Blazer kill tied the match at one set apiece.

With the score tied at four early in the third set, a Matos kill was the first of five unanswered Owl points. UAB never relented and eventually evened the score 13-13. The sides were level at 15 when Smith put down back-to-back kills, kickstarting a 10-2 FAU spurt that gave the Owls a two sets to one lead.

Matos had four kills over the course of five points, helping stake FAU a 9-2 advantage in set number four. Later on in the frame, Smith had a hand in three straight blocks that made the score 15-6 in favor of the Owls. A kill by Nemtuda ended the match.

Notables

Sydney Nemtuda and Massiel Matos each recorded 16 kills and 10 digs on Sunday afternoon. It is the fifth double-double of the season for both players.
For Matos, it is career double-double number 18, while Nemtuda notched the ninth of her career
In addition to being a career-high, Zuri Smith's 10 total blocks are the most in Conference USA in a four-set match this year. Smith also added eight kills
Sigourney Kame posted nine kills, while Cailea Gibbs collected eight kills
Nikki Lakman had a match-high 35 assists. Stephanie Young dished out 18
Kori Varney followed up her career-high 22 dig effort on Friday night with 14 more against UAB.

Quotable
FAU Head Coach Fernanda Nelson
"(It was a) great win for us on the road. I am so proud of the girls' effort. We served aggressively and our blocking and defense was fantastic again."

What's Next
The Owls host UTSA on Friday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. Admission is free. Live stats and video will be available at fausports.com. In-game updates will be available at twitter.com/FAUVolleyball.