Owls drop four-set battle with UTEP on Sunday

Sunday, September 25

Boca Raton, Fla.

12 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

-104,02 CUSA

UTEP

-87,20 CUSA

UTEP

Fla. Atlantic

9/25/2022 5:07:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University volleyball team (10-4, 0-2 C-USA) dropped a four-set battle against the UTEP Miners (8-7, 2-0 C-USA) on Sunday to conclude the Owls' C-USA opening weekend.

The Owls opened the match on a 4-1 run to take an early lead, but UTEP responded with three-straight points to close the gap and bring the set even at four. FAU then went on a 7-3 run, capped by a Vanda Zimova kill, to give the Owls a four-point lead, 11-7, and spark a UTEP timeout. FAU kept the pressure on as the Owls continued their run going 8-4 to extend their lead to 19-11. UTEP scored three unanswered to bring things back within five, 19-14, but it was just too little too late as FAU closed out the set on a 6-3 run to capture the 25-17 win in the opening set.

After a kill from Zarnovicka put the Owls in front 1-0 to open the second, UTEP produced a 5-1 run to take the lead at 5-2. The Owls battled back to close the deficit to one after back-to-back kills from Katelynn Robine, 8-7. FAU and UTEP battled back-and-forth until a service ace from Valeria Rosado to put the Owls back on top, 15-14. UTEP retook the lead at 19-17, however the Owls scored three-straight points to retake the lead once more at 20-19 after another Zarnovicka kill. However, the Miners outscored the Owls 6-2 to bring the second to a close, 25-22, and even up the match at one apiece.

The third was a back-and-forth battle between the Owls and the Miners. The two squads battled through eight ties to a 10-10 stalemate to open the third. FAU kept the set within a point at 13-12 after a Miner service error, but a 7-0 UTEP run broke the Miners to take a 20-12 lead. The Miners held match point at 24-15, before the Owls scored four-straight to close within five, 24-19, but UTEP recorded the last kill to close the third 25-19 and take a 2-1 advantage.

UTEP opened the fourth with two-straight points, but the Owls responded with three of their own to take a 3-2 lead after a Miner ball-handling error. However, the Miners responded to take a 10-5 lead and spark an FAU timeout. UTEP outscored FAU 6-4 to hold a 16-9 advantage before a 6-1 Owl run, finished off by a kill from Zarnovicka brought the Owls within two at 17-15. FAU kept the fourth within two at 18-16, but unfortunately the Miners outscored the Owls 7-1 over the remainder of the set, taking the fourth 25-17 and closing out the contest, 3-1.

Stat Leaders

Kills: Valeria Rosado - 14
Assists: Noelle Stephens - 34
Digs: Camryn Vogler - 15
Blocks: Lauryn Green - 5
Aces: Katelynn Robine - 6

Set-by-Set

Set 1: FAU 25, UTEP 17
Set 2: FAU 22, UTEP 25
Set 3: FAU 19, UTEP 25
Set 4: FAU 17, UTEP 25

Match Notes

Katelynn Robine set a new career-high with six service aces
Three Owls scored double-digit kills with Valeria Rosado leading the way with 14, Zarnovicka registering 13, and Robine tallying 10 kills.
Vanda Zimova tied her season-high with five kills in the contest
Noelle Stephens posted a match-high 34 assists
Camryn Vogler also had a match-high in digs with 15

Up Next

The Owls hit the road for their first C-USA road trip of the year, heading to the Lone Star State to take on the UTSA Roadrunners on Sept. 30 for a 7 p.m. first serve.