Volleyball Nipped by FIU in Five

Sunday, October 6

Miami, Fla.

1 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

8-5

FIU

7-6

Fla. Atlantic

FIU

Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

10/6/2019 5:38:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University volleyball team's comeback attempt fell just short as the Owls lost to rival FIU in five sets (25-21, 25-22, 18-25, 22-25, 15-12) on Sunday. FAU is now 8-6 on the season and 2-1 in Conference USA play.

Key Plays

For the second time on the weekend, the Owls got off to a slow start in the first set, allowing FIU (8-6, 1-2) to take an early 10-6 lead. FAU rallied to within two, but the Panthers were able to hold on and took the first set 25-21.

It was a similar story in set number two, with the Panthers building a 9-4 advantage. The cushion grew as large as eight at 13-5, but FAU didn't go away, and fought off three set points before FIU was able to convert the fourth and take a two set lead, 25-23.

The Owls were able to grab the momentum early in the third set, going up 11-6, and eventually stretching the difference to double-digits, 21-11. FIU staved off five set points, but a Sigourney Kame kill cut FAU's deficit in half with a 25-18 Owl victory.

Set number four was more of the same with FAU taking a 10-6 lead and going up by as much as six. The Panthers denied four more set points, forcing a FAU timeout. After play resumed, Sigourney Kame put down her seventh kill of the frame, clinching a 25-22 win and forcing a fifth set.

FAU led 6-4 in the fifth set, but the Panthers reeled off four straight points and held an 8-6 lead at the changeover. Sydney Nemtuda tied the score with a kill and solo block, but a strong FIU finish helped the Panthers take the set and the match.

Notables

· Jordan Yauch led the Owls with a season-high 16 kills and hit .343 on the day

· Sydney Nemtuda and Massiel Matos posted a pair of matching double-doubles, each of them recording 15 kills and 15 digs in the match. It was the fourth double-double of the year for both players

· Sigourney Kame collected a dozen kills on Sunday. She passed Kim Pruitt and Kelly Paiva and is now third in school history with 1,112 career kills

· Nikki Lakman dished out 29 assists and had 12 digs, good for her second double-double of the season

· Kori Varney amassed 16 digs, the most of any FAU player

What's Next

The Owls return home to host WKU on Friday, Oct. 11. Match time is set for 7 p.m. Live video and live stats will be available at fausports.com. Live updates will be posted to the team's official Twitter account, @FAUVolleyball.