FAU drops five-set thriller at Middle Tennessee

Sunday, October 30

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

2 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

-1310,38 CUSA

Middle Tennessee

-159,46 CUSA

Fla. Atlantic

Middle Tenn.

Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

10/30/2022 5:48:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Florida Atlantic Volleyball (13-10, 3-8 C-USA) continued to battle every set, but ultimately fell in a five-set thriller against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (15-9, 4-6 C-USA) on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Memorial Gym.

FAU and Middle Tennessee battled early with FAU holding a one-point advantage at 12-11 in the first, but a 5-0 Blue Raider run put Middle Tennessee up 16-12. The Owls looked to cut back into Middle Tennessee's lead off a kill from Klara Zarnovicka to make it 19-16, but FAU just couldn't rally as the Blue Raiders outscored the Owls 6-3 to close the opening frame and take the first 25-19.

Middle Tennessee held a 14-11 advantage early in the second, but a 4-1 run that was capped by a pair of kills from Alicia Hearn brought the Owls even with the Blue Raiders at 15. Middle Tennessee responded with a 5-0 run to retake the lead at 20-15, but the Owls produced a dominate 11-4 run to close out the set and capture the 26-24 win and bring the match even at one apiece.

After falling behind early and dropping the third set 25-16 to go back down by one, the Owls kicked it back into gear opening the fourth on a 5-1 run. Middle Tennessee scored five unanswered to take their first lead of the frame at 6-5, before a back-and-forth battle would bring the set to a 10-10 stalemate. The two teams traded 4-0 runs to make it 14-14. The Owls would tie the fourth up once more at 19-19 and then eventually at 22 to look to force a fifth frame. A Camryn Vogler service ace and a pair of Blue Raider errors gave FAU the edge it needed to secure the fourth set 25-23 and send the match into a final decisive fifth.

FAU started out slow in the fifth, falling behind 11-4 quickly. However, a 7-2 FAU run that was capped off by a kill from Sonte Stewart brought the Owls back within two at 13-11, but it just wasn't enough as Middle Tennessee tallied two more kills to close out the match, 3-2, and take the final set 15-11.

Stat Leaders

Kills: Katelynn Robine - 18
Assists: Noelle Stephens - 28
Digs: Camryn Vogler - 16
Blocks: Alicia Hearn & Valeria Rosado - 4
Aces: Camryn Vogler - 2

Set-by-Set

Set 1: FAU 19, MT 25
Set 2: FAU 26, MT 24
Set 3: FAU 16, MT 25
Set 4: FAU 25, MT 23
Set 5: FAU 11, MT 15

Match Notes

Four Owls scored in double-digits, led by Katelynn Robine with 18 in the match.
Vanda Zimova led the team with an impressive .615 hitting performance, while tallying a career-best nine kills
MiaBella English dished out a season-best 25 assists, while Noelle Stephens led the team with 28 in the match
Valeria Rosado tied a career-best four blocks

Up Next

The Owls return to the Sunshine State next weekend as they welcome the WKU Hilltoppers on Friday, before closing out their 2022 home slate on Sunday against the Charlotte 49ers for senior day.

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