Florida Atlantic Splits Day One

Friday, September 1

Oxford, Ohio

10:30 a.m.

Florida Atlantic

3-2,0-0AAC

Cleveland State

3-1,0-0Horizon

Cleveland St.

Fla. Atlantic

Valeria Rosado and Kaila Ru block vs. FDU

9/1/2023 9:43:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

OXFORD, Ohio – The Owls opened up play in the Miami/Best Western Invitational on Friday, splitting their matches against Cleveland State and EKU. The Owls started the day with a dominant 3-0 sweep over previously unbeaten Cleveland State, but dropped a four-set battle with EKU inside Millett Hall.

Florida Atlantic 3 – Cleveland State 0

The Owls opened up play at the Miami/Best Western Invitational in dominant fashion, earning a 3-0 sweep over previously unbeaten Cleveland State.

The Owls opened the match on a 9-3 run. Florida Atlantic maintained a two-point advantage through a 22-20 lead before closing out the opening set with a 3-1 run, capped off by an Arianna Beckham kill to take the 1-0 lead.

Florida Atlantic battled Cleveland State back-and-forth to open the second through a 9-8 Vikings lead. The Owls broke away on a 9-4 run to take a 18-12. The Vikings got two back to cut the Florida Atlantic lead to four, 18-14, however the Owls put on a dominant showing to close out the set, outscoring Cleveland State 7-1 to secure the 25-15 victory and the 2-0 match advantage.

The Vikings jumped out to a 7-2 lead to open the third, however the Owls responded on a 6-1 run to quickly bring things even at 8-8 after a Katelynn Robine kill. The two squads battled over the remainder of the third, however the Owls were able to hold onto their advantage to take the third 25-23 and complete the sweep, 3-0.

Arianna Beckham led the Owls a with a match-high 13 kills, hitting .450, while Lauryn Green followed closely behind, hitting .625, and recording 10 kills, while Victoria Hensley dished out a match-best 22 assists. Isabelle Northam led the team with a match-best 19 digs and Kaila Ru led the Owls at the net with a team-high three blocks.

Florida Atlantic 1 – EKU 3

The Owls wrapped up the opening day of the Miami/Best Western Invitational in a tough four-set loss against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.

EKU jumped out to a 9-5 start to open the match. The two squads traded runs to a 16-11 Colonel lead. The Colonels closed out the opening set, outscoring the Owls 9-8, 25-19, to eventually take the opening lead, 1-0.

The Colonels jumped out to a 13-2 lead entering the second. The Owls battled back to cut the EKU lead to six at 18-12, however the Colonels outscored the Owls 7-3 over the remainder of the third to take the 2-0 advantage, 25-15.

EKU took an early lead in the third after a 6-1 run. EKU held a five-point advantage at 10-5, before a kill from Katelynn Robine sparked a 6-0 run, capped off by a kill from Alicia Hearn, to put the Owls in front by one, 11-10. EKU regained the lead right after, but the Owls responded with a 12-4 run to take a six-point lead, 23-17, the Owls largest of the match. The Colonels got three back, but back-to-back kills from Robine put away the set, 25-20, as the Owls forced a set four, 2-1.

The two squads battled back and forth trading leads through a 16-15 Florida Atlantic lead. But the Colonels scored four unanswered to lead 19-16. The Owls battled back within a point at 21-20, but it just wasn't enough as EKU closed the match on a 4-0 run to take the fourth 25-20 and take the 3-1 win.

Valeria Rosado led the Owls with 11 kills, hitting .267, while Katelynn Robine also recorded double-digit kills with 10. Victoria Hensley dished out a match-high 26 assists. Defensively, Isabelle Northam tallied a season-high 23 digs and Arianna Beckham registered a team-high six blocks, including two solo.

Up Next

Florida Atlantic will wrap up play at the Miami/Best Western Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 2 as they take on host Miami (OH) at 11 a.m. inside Millett Hall and on ESPN+.

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