Owls Perfect on Opening Day of Owls Paradise Classic

Friday, September 20

Boca Raton, Fla.

12 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

6-4,0-0AAC

Illinois State

3-8,0-0MVC

Illinois St.

Fla. Atlantic

Florida Atlantic Volleyball Celebration vs. Mercer

Photo by: Rick De Paiva

9/20/2024 11:49:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic Owls opened up play in the Owls Paradise Classic on Friday, earning a pair of wins over Illinois State, 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 25-21, 13-25, 15-12), and Mercer, 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 25-27, 25-10), inside Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

Florida Atlantic improves to 7-4 with the pair of wins, while Illinois State dropped to 3-8, and Mercer received its second loss of the season, falling to 10-2.

FLORIDA ATLANTIC 3 – ILLINOIS STATE 2

The Owls and Redbirds battled back and forth to open the contest, battling through an 11-11 tie. Illinois State went on a 4-0 run to take a 15-11 lead halfway through the first. The Redbirds maintained a 20-13 advantage before a kill from Madison Dyer sparked a 3-0 Owl run to close back within four, 20-16. Illinois State tacked on one more, but another 4-0 run for the Owls brought Florida Atlantic back within a point after a Redbird error, 21-20. The Owls finished closing the gap to tie things up at 22-22 after a pair of Illinois State errors, but the Redbirds outscored the Owls 3-1 to close out the set, taking the 25-23 opening set win.

Illinois State opened the second on a 3-1 run, but the Owls quickly answered back, scoring five unanswered, capped off by a pair of kills from Katelynn Robine and one from Natalie Depaula to put the Owls in front, 6-3. Florida Atlantic maintained a four-point advantage through a 12-8 tie, but the Redbirds went on a 4-0 run to knot things up at 12 all. The Redbirds retook the lead 15-14, but the Owls responded, scoring seven unanswered points to battle back to a six-point lead, 21-15. Illinois State tried to rally, outscoring the Owls 7-2 to close back within a point, but Valeria Rosado and Robine registered back-to-back kills to close out the set and bring the match even at one, 25-23.

The Redbirds opened the third on a 5-0 run to take the early lead. Illinois State maintained a five-point advantage through a 14-9 lead, but a Dyer kill sparked a 5-0 Florida Atlantic run, evening up the set at 14-14 after a pair of kills from Olivia Hart. Illinois State retook the lead 15-14, but the Owls locked in through the rest of the set, outscoring the Redbirds 11-6 to take the 25-21 win and the 2-1 lead.

The Owls started slow in the fourth as Illinois State jumped out to a 7-2 lead to spark a Florida Atlantic timeout. The Owls struggled to cut into the Redbirds lead, calling their second timeout of the set trailing by eight, 12-4. Florida Atlantic just couldn't find an answer to Illinois State in the fourth as the Redbirds outscored the Owls 13-9 over the remainder of the set to even the match at 2-2, 25-13.

Illinois State led 5-4 to open the fifth, but the Owls battled back, going on a 4-1 run to rally to an 8-6 lead at the side swap. Florida Atlantic continued to find an answer to each of the Redbirds' points as they closed the set on a 7-6 run to secure the five-set victory, 3-2.

FLORIDA ATLANTIC 3 – MERCER 1

Florida Atlantic and Mercer fought back and forth to open the match, battling to a 13-13 tie before a 5-0 Florida Atlantic run, capped off by a Noelle Stephens ace, gave the Owls an 18-13 lead. The Owls continued to lead by five through a 19-14 advantage, but Mercer battled back to score five unanswered and even the first at 19. Florida Atlantic retook the lead 21-19, but Mercer answered back to even things up 21-21, however, the Owls locked in to score four unanswered as a block from Victoria Hensley and Kaila Ru closed out the set, 25-21.

The second set opened to an 11-7 Mercer lead, but the Owls produced a 4-0 run to even the frame at 11 all. The two squads continued to trade blows through a 20-20 tie, but the Owls found success late, outscoring the Bears 5-1 to close out the set as the Owls took a 2-0 advantage, 25-21.

Florida Atlantic and Mercer traded blows in the third set, battling back-and-forth through a 20-16 Bears' lead. The Owls answered back once again, scoring four-straight points to even the set at 20 and spark a Mercer timeout. The Owls and Bears continued to battle through through five ties, 25-25, however the Bears were the first to tally back-to-back points as they eventually took the third, 27-25, to send the match to a fourth, 2-1.

After a tough ending to the third, the Owls came out hot in the fourth, mounting a set-opening 7-2 run to spark a Mercer timeout. The Owls continued to keep their foot on the gas, outscoring the Bears 6-2 to hold a nine-point advantage, 13-4, as the Bears used their second timeout of the frame. Florida Atlantic was nearly unstoppable in the fourth as the Owls dominated the Bears en route to an impressive 25-10 set win to cap off a thrilling four-set win, 3-1.

STATS & NOTES

Katelynn Robine led the Owls offensively in both contests, recording a team-leading 15 kills against the Redbirds and the Bears
Victoria Hensley powered the Owls' offense in the pair of wins, recording 49 assists along with team-high tying 14 digs against Illinois State, and 39 assists and nine digs vs. Mercer
Brianna Anderson and Hensley tied for a team-leading 14 digs against Illinois State, while Rosado led the Owls back row with 11 digs against Mercer
Kaila Ru tallied a team-leading four blocks against Illinois State, while Natalie Depaula posted a new career-best seven blocks in the Owls win over Mercer

UP NEXT

Florida Atlantic will wrap up non-conference play on Saturday, Sept. 21, taking on the Stetson Hatters in their non-conference finale at 1 p.m. inside Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

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