Owls Close Non-Conference Play with Owls Paradise Classic

Friday, September 20

Boca Raton, Fla.

12 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

Illinois State

Photo by: Keira Arimenta

9/19/2024 2:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

MATCH NOTES (PDF)

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic Owls return home this weekend to close out their non-conference schedule, hosting the Owls Paradise Classic on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20-21.

Florida Atlantic (5-4 AAC) opens the weekend on Friday, Sept. 20, at 12 p.m. against Illinois State (3-7 MVC) before taking on Mercer (9-1 SOCON) at 7 p.m. Friday evening for the Owls' Alumni Game. The Owls will close out the weekend on Saturday at 1 p.m. against the Stetson Hatters (3-5 ASUN).

Owls Paradise Classic
Matchup Details	Friday & Saturday, Sept. 13-14 \| Boca Raton, Fla. \| Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena
Game Coverage	Friday, Sept. 13 12 PM ET \| vs. Illinois State \| Watch Live \| Live Stats 7 PM ET \| vs. Mercer \| Watch Live \| Live Stats Saturday, Sept. 14 1 PM ET \| vs. Stetson \| Watch Live \| Live Stats X: @FAUVolleyball
Florida Atlantic Links	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats
Illinois State Links	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats
Mercer Links	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats
Stetson Links	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats

SCOUTING FLORIDA ATLANTIC

The Owls enter this weekend's Owls Paradise Classic at 5-4 overall and are coming off a tough weekend in Tallahassee that saw the Owls fall in a hard-fought match against No. 21 Florida State and a tight five-set battle with the UCF Knights.
Florida Atlantic is led offensively by Valeria Rosado and Katelynn Robine, averaging 3.41 and 2.74 kills per set, respectively. Maggie Allred and Madison Dyer lead the Owls in attack percentage, hitting .347 and .306, respectively.
Victoria Hensley leads the Owls in assists, tallying 362 total assists and averaging an impressive 10.34 assists per set this year.
Florida Atlantic's back row is anchored by liberos Brianna Anderson and Isabelle Northam, averaging 2.89 and 2.86 digs per set, respectively. Rosado ranks third on the Owls in digs, tallying 2.74 digs per set.
The Owls are led at the net by Madison Dyer, Natalie Depaula, and Maggie Allred with 29, 21, and 20 total blocks, respectively, while Kaila Ru leads the team in blocks per set, recording a team-leading 1.42 blocks per set.

SCOUTING ILLINOIS STATE

Illinois State enters this weekend's Owls Paradise Classic at 3-7 overall and are just coming off a 0-3 weekend at the Panther Invitational, falling in five sets against St. Thomas and Milwaukee and dropping a four-set battle against Iowa.
The Redbirds are led offensively by Aida Shadewald and Caitlyn Little, recording 3.40 and 2.86 kills per set, respectively.
Mekaila Aupiu is Illinois State's assists leader with 386 assists, averaging 9.19 assists per set this season.
Samantha Bunch and Aida Shadewald lead the Redbirds' back row defensively, averaging 3.45 and 2.45 digs per set, respectively. At the net, Khenedi Guest has recorded a team-leading 26 blocks, averaging 0.65 blocks per set, while Maggie McCrary has tallied a team-leading 0.83 blocks per set with a team second-best 19 total blocks.

SCOUTING MERCER

Mercer heads into the Owls Paradise Classic at 9-1 overall and are just coming off their home-opening weekend, which saw the Bears go 3-0 against Elon, Southern Miss, and Presbyterian.
The Bears kill leaders are Skye Ekes and Gia Padilla, tallying 3.61 and 2.63 kills per set, respectively.
Brooke Phillips is Mercer's leading setter, tallying 345 assists and averaging 9.08 assists per set through the first 10 matches this season.
Mercer's back row is led by MeMe Davis, Phillips, and Padilla, averaging 3.95, 2.53, and 2.45 digs per set, respectively.
The Bears blocking leaders are Lou Johnson and Skyler Bumpers, who have recorded 32 and 30 blocks, averaging 0.91 and 0.79 blocks per set, respectively.

SCOUTING STETSON

Stetson enters this weekend 3-5 overall and are just coming off a tough 0-3 weekend at South Carolina's Tournament. The Hatters fell in four against host South Carolina and then fell in back-to-back sweeps vs. FIU and Wake Forest.
The Hatters offensive leader is Anabelle Standish, who has tallied 99 kills, averaging 3.67 kills per set this season.
Nyah Molina leads the Hatters in assists, dishing out 165 assists, averaging 9.71 per set.
Defensively, Stetson's back row is led by Haruka Sugimoto and Molina, averaging 4.37 and 3.41 digs per set. At the net, Kayla Balfour and Ayala Halfon lead the Hatters in blocks, recording 1.38 and 1.28 blocks per set, respectively.

UP NEXT

Following this weekend's Owls Paradise Classic, the Owls will open conference play on Friday, Sept. 27 against ECU and Sunday, Sept. 29 vs. Charlotte.

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