Volleyball Sweeps Opening Day of Owls Paradise Classic

Friday, September 19

Boca Raton, Fla.

12 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

George Washington

9/19/2025 11:39:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic Owls swept day one of their Paradise Classic on Friday, defeating George Washington in five sets, 3-2, and closing out the day with a 3-0 win over Stetson inside Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

HOW IT HAPPENED
MATCH ONE
Florida Atlantic opened its first match with a 13-10 run. However, the Revolutionaries scored six unanswered points to take a 16-13 lead and spark FAU to a pair of timeouts. George Washington held match-point at 24-17, but a late 4-0 run for the Owls brought the set within three at 24-21 before GW recorded the final kill for the 25-21 set one win and the 1-0 lead.

The Owls mounted a set two 4-0 run at 8-7, including a pair of kills from Kayla Richardson and another from Olivia Hart, to take an 11-8 lead and force the Revolutionaries to call a timeout. GW scored three unanswered to tie the set at 11-11, but the Owls tallied five unanswered to push the lead back to five at 16-11. George Washington battled, forcing the Owls to call their first timeout of the second with a 21-18 lead. The Owls matched the Revs point for point to close out the second, 25-22, and even the match at one set all.

FAU maintained the lead and held a 14-12 advantage before the Revs went on a 5-1 run to jump back in front at 17-15. The Owls responded with three unanswered to retake the lead, 18-17. FAU maintained the one-point lead until taking charge with a 4-1 run to close out the set for a 2-1 set lead.

Florida Atlantic opened the fourth on a 6-2 run before the Revs battled back to tie things up at eight, 8-8. The Owls and the Revs fought back and forth throughout the fourth set. Following a 21-21 tie, George Washington closed the fourth on a 4-0 run to take the set, 25-21, and force a fifth and deciding set.

The fifth set was much more of the same opening with an 8-8 stalemate. FAU's Anna Hartman recorded a kill, which sparked a 4-0 Owl run, giving FAU the 12-8 advantage, and forceing a GWU timeout. A 3-2 Owls' run punctuated by an Olivia Hart kill, earned the Owls the five-set win.

MATCH TWO
The Owls jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, sparking an early Stetson timeout. FAU extended the lead to six, 11-5, but the Hatters rallied to tie things up at 14-14. Madison Dyer recorded a kill to spark a 6-1 Owl run and extend FAU's lead back to five, 20-15. FAU outscored Stetson 5-2 to close out the first set, 25-17.

FAU doubled up the Hatters at 14-7 before the first timeout of the set. Stetson cut the Owls' lead to four at 17-13, before the Owls responded with a 3-0 run, capped off by a pair of aces from Maggie Allred, to extend the lead back to seven at 20-13. The Owls closed the set on a 5-2 run to win the second, 25-15 for the two-set lead.

The Owls outscored the Hatters in set three 17-11at the opening timeout of the third. FAU continued to dominate and closed out the set and match on an 8-3 run to take the third, 25-14 for the three-set sweep.

STATS & NOTES

Match One
- Hart, Hartman, and Richardson led the Owls against George Washington
- Hart posted her fourth double-double of the season, recording a match-high 18 kills, including an impressive .444 hitting performance, to go along with 11 digs.
- Hartman and Richardson also finished in double figures for the Owls, tallying 16 and 11 kills, respectively.
- Victoria Hensley led the Owls in assists with 28, while Emsley Venard also had a great day, finishing with 26 assists.
- Defensively, Isabelle Northam led the Owls' back row with 19 digs, while Madison Dyer finished with a team-best five blocks in the win.
- As a team, the Owls led in hitting percentage (.285-.219), digs (62-60), and blocks (11-9).
Match Two
- Hart continued to lead the way for the Owls, finishing with a match-leading 10 kills along with nine digs and an ace versus the Hatters.
- Venard led the Owls in assists with 20, while Hensley added 15 assists across three sets.
- Northam led the team in digs, recording 10, and Maggie Allred led the Owls at the net, finishing with a match-high four blocks.
- As a team, the Owls dominated the Hatters in nearly every statistical category, leading the match in kills (45-20), hitting percentage (.250-.022), assists (41-17), aces (9-1), and digs (45-38).

UP NEXT
The Owls close out non-conference play on Saturday, hosting the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats in the Owls Paradise Classic finale at 1 p.m. inside Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

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