Owls drop five-set battle at UTSA

Friday, September 30

San Antonio, Texas

7 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

-105,03 CUSA

UTSA

-68,11 CUSA

Fla. Atlantic

UTSA

9/30/2022 11:21:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Staring down a 2-0 deficit, Florida Atlantic University volleyball battled back to send the match to a decisive fifth, but the Owls (10-5, 0-3 C-USA) just ran out of steam as they dropped a 3-2 (19-25, 18-25, 25-22, 34-32, 5-15) battle against the UTSA Roadrunners (6-8, 1-1 C-USA) on Friday night at the Convocation Center.

FAU jumped out to an 11-6 lead to open the contest. The Owls continued to maintain a two-point lead through the first media timeout of the contest, 15-13. A kill from Valeria Rosado kept the FAU lead at two, 16-14, but a 7-0 UTSA run gave the Roadrunners their first lead of the contest, 21-16. The Owls cut the Roadrunner lead to four, 23-19, but it was just too little too late as UTSA would take the set 25-19 and the early 1-0 lead.

The second set was a battle of runs early. Both teams traded a pair of 4-0 and 3-0 runs to battle to a 7-7 stalemate to open the second. UTSA took a 10-9 lead, but a kill from Rosado and a Lauryn Green and Noelle Stephens block put the Owls back in front, 11-10. The Owls maintained a one-point advantage through a 15-14 lead, but UTSA outscored FAU 11-3 over the remainder of the sets to take second frame 25-18 and give the Roadrunners the 2-0 lead.

FAU took the early lead in the third 6-4, but UTSA responded on a 5-0 run to take their first lead of the set at 9-6. FAU battled back to tie things back up at 10 after a Roadrunners' setting error. The match remained even at 15-15 before a 6-3 FAU run put the Owls back on top, 21-18, as the Owls looked to send the match to a fourth set. The Owls held set point at 24-20, before the Roadrunners scored a pair to cut the FAU lead to two, 24-22, but a kill from Rosado closed things out as the Owls took their first set of the match 25-22 and cut the deficit to one, 2-1.

The Owls looked to carry their positive momentum from the third set into the fourth. The Owls opened the frame on fire as they outscored the Roadrunners 7-1 to take a quick six-point advantage. The Owls extended their lead to eight at 13-5, but both sides continued to battle back-and-forth until FAU held set-point at 24-23. However, UTSA wasn't going to let the Owls even the match that easily. The marathon set eventually came to a close with a 34-32 FAU win to bring the set even at two apiece and send the match to a decisive fifth set.

After battling to bring the match even at 2-2, the Owls just ran out of steam in the final set as UTSA outscored FAU 15-5 in the final frame and capture the 3-2 win.

Stat Leaders

Kills: Valeria Rosado - 21
Assists: Noelle Stephens - 31
Digs: Camryn Vogler - 17
Blocks: Lauryn Green - 3
Aces: Three tied - 3

Set-by-Set

Set 1: FAU 19, UTSA 25
Set 2: FAU 18, UTSA 25
Set 3: FAU 25, UTSA 22
Set 4: FAU 34, UTSA 32
Set 5: FAU 5, UTSA 15

Match Notes

Valeria posted a match-high 21 kills, breaking 20+ kills for the second time this season
Lauryn Green tied for a match-high three blocks
Vogler posted a season-high three aces

Up Next

Next, the Owls face their toughest test of the season as they head down to Houston, Texas for a battle against the No. 22-ranked Rice Owls on Sunday at Tudor Fieldhouse.