Owls Finish Weekend Undefeated with Another Five-Set Thriller

Sunday, October 11

Greenville, N.C.

1 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

11-6,4-2American

East Carolina

12-6,5-1American

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Fla. Atlantic	25	17	21	25	15	3
East Carolina	16	25	25	23	12	2

Owls Finish Weekend Undefeated with Another Five-Set Thriller

10/11/2026 9:06:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The Florida Atlantic volleyball team closed out the weekend Sunday with another five-set win, this time over the East Carolina Pirates, 3-2 (25-16, 17-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-12), inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

With the win, the Owls improve to 11-6 on the season and 4-2 in American play, while the Pirates drops its first conference contest of the season, falling to 12-6 overall and 5-1 in league play.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Florida Atlantic opened the match on a 9-3 run, sparking a quick ECU timeout. The Pirates closed back within three, 10-7, but the Owls answered back with five unanswered points to hold the 15-7 lead at the first set media break. FAU extended its lead to nine at 19-10 after a pair of kills from Anna Hartman and Libby Ashline, a lead the Owls would ride out through the remainder of the first, 25-16, to take the 1-0 lead.

The Owls and Pirates traded runs to open the second, eventually leading to an 11-11 tie, however, ECU would take the advantage, leading 15-12 at the second set technical break. FAU struggled to find an answer against the Pirates in the second as ECU closed the set on a 10-5 run, taking the second 25-17 and evening the match at one set apiece, 1-1.

ECU took the early lead in the third, opening the set on a 15-9 run. After trailing 19-10, the Owls started to rally, cutting the deficit to four at 20-16 after a 6-1 run, capped off by a kill from Kierstin Bevelle and a Pirate setting error. FAU continued to chip away at the Pirates lead, battling back within two at 21-19, but ECU held on to take the third 25-21 and take the 2-1 lead.

The Owls led early in the fourth, opening the set on a 7-4 run. The Owls extended their advantage to 15-10 at the media break. The Owls pushed their lead to six at 20-14 to spark an ECU timeout. The Pirates started to rally, cutting the deficit to two at 22-20 and forcing the Owls to call a timeout of their own. Olivia Hart pushed the Owls' advantage to 23-20, but another 2-0 ECU run cut the deficit to just one, 23-22, however, the Owls clinched the set with a 2-1 run, including a solo block from Ashline and a Bevelle kill, to capture the 25-23 win and force a final deciding fifth set.

The Owls opened the contest on a 10-4 run, capped off by a service ace from Zoe Winford, to take the early lead. ECU rallied back, going on a 7-2 run to cut the FAU lead to just one, 12-11, however, the Owls locked in to close the match on a 3-1 run, ending with a kill from Bevelle, to capture the 15-12 win and seal the five-set victory.

STATS & NOTES

Hart led the way for the Owls in the win, scoring a career-best 20 kills on a .405 hitting performance, to go along with a block, an assist, and a dig.
Maya Van Heyst dished out a team-leading 47 assists, to go along with 10 digs and a kill,
Isabelle Northam and Winford paced the Owls' back row, tying for a match-best 14 digs each.
Hartman and Ashline led the Owls block, finishing with three and two blocks, respectively.
As a team, the Owls outpaced the Pirates in kills, 60-58, digs, 58-50, and assists, 55-50,
Florida Atlantic improves to 6-3 all-time against ECU, including a 4-2 mark on the road in Greenville.

UP NEXT
The Owls return to Paradise next weekend, hosting Tulane on Friday, Oct. 16 and Charlotte on Sunday, Oct. 18 on Abessinio Court at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

FOLLOW THE OWLS
Keep up with everything Florida Atlantic volleyball at FAUSports.com and on social media on X, Instagram, and Facebook.