Owls Magical Run Ends in AAC Championship

Sunday, November 24

Wichita, Kan.

1 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

18-13,8-8AAC

Wichita State

18-13,10-6AAC

Fla. Atlantic

Wichita St.

Florida Atlantic Team Huddle AAC Championship

11/24/2024 4:05:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The No. 6-seeded Florida Atlantic Owls battled tough but fell against No. 4-seeded Wichita State Shockers in the American Athletic Conference Championship on Sunday, 3-0 (22-25, 19-25, 19-25) inside Charles Koch Arena.

Florida Atlantic falls to 18-13 on the season and Wichita State moves to 18-13.

No. 6 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 0 – No. 4 WICHITA STATE 3

Wichita State opened the match on a 10-4 run to take the opening lead. The Owls then rallied on a 5-1 run to close back within two at 11-9 and spark a timeout for Wichita State. Katelynn Robine tallied her second kill of the day to bring the Owls back within a point, 13-12, but Wichita State answered back with a 4-0 run to force the Owls to call their second timeout of the first, 17-12. Florida Atlantic looked to rally closing back within two off a 3-0 run, 20-18, capped off by a block assist from Madison Dyer and Romina Cornelio, but the Owls just couldn't close the gap anymore as they traded points through the remainder of the set with Wichita State taking the 25-22 win and an opening 1-0 lead.

The Shockers opened the second on a 4-1 run, but the Owls quickly answered back, scoring three unanswered to bring the match even at four. Florida Atlantic then went on a 6-4 run to take a two-point lead at 10-8, following a pair of Shocker errors. Florida Atlantic maintained its lead through a 15-14 advantage at the second-period media timeout. Out of the break, the Shockers produced a 4-2 run to take the lead 18-17 as the Owls called their first timeout of the set. Wichita State tacked on two more, extending its lead to 20-17 as the Owls called their second and final timeout of the second. A kill and an ace from Robine brought the Owls back within one at 20-19, but the Shockers closed the frame on a 5-0 run to take the second 25-19 and hold a two-set lead, 2-0.

Wichita State took the early lead again in the third, opening the set on a 6-2 run to force an early Florida Atlantic timeout. The break proved valuable for the Owls as a kill from Rosado out of the timeout helped spark a 5-0 scoring run to give the Owls their first lead of the set, 7-6. However, the Owls' advantage was short-lived, as Wichita State produced a 5-1 run to retake the lead 11-8 during the Owls second timeout of the third. A Wichita State attack error and a kill from Kaila Ru cut the deficit back down to two, 12-10, but the Owls just couldn't contain the Shockers offense as Wichita State went on a 10-4 run to lead 22-14. The Owls rallied to score three unanswered, bringing the set back within five, 22-17, but it was just too little too late as the Shockers eventually took the set 25-19, to capture the match, 3-0.

STATS & NOTES

Valeria Rosado led the Owls will 11 kills, hitting .267, and adding six digs, an assist, a block, and an ace.
Katelynn Robine finished with a team second-best eight kills and led the Owls in aces with two.
Victoria Hensley dished out 28 assists and added eight digs and a block.
Isabelle Northam finished with a team-leading 12 digs, while Romina Cornelio tallied 11.

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