Owls Knock Off Second-Straight Unbeaten Foe in American Play

Friday, October 16

Boca Raton, Fla.

6 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

12-6,5-2American

Tulane

14-3,6-1American

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Tulane	25	18	14	25	9	2
Fla. Atlantic	21	25	25	19	15	3

Owls Knock Off Second-Straight Unbeaten Foe in American Play

10/16/2026 11:01:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

BOCA RATON, Fla. – On a program record-breaking night that saw Isabelle Northam become the program's all-time digs leader, the Florida Atlantic volleyball team knocked off their second-straight unbeaten opponent, defeating the Tulane Green Wave in a five-set thriller, 3-2 (21-25, 25-18, 25-14, 19-25, 15-9), Friday night on Abessinio Court at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

With the win, the Owls improve to 12-6 on the season and 5-2 in American play, while Tulane dropped its first conference match of the season, falling to 14-3 overall and 6-1 in league play.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After a 3-0 Tulane run, the Owls responded with a 7-1 run to hold an early 7-4 lead. The Green Wave went on another 3-0 run to tie things up at 7-7. The squads traded blows through a pair of ties at 12-12 and 13-13, before a Tulane service error and a kill from Anna Hartman gave the Owls a 15-14 lead at the opening media break. The Green Wave retook the lead out of the break, going on a 5-1 run to hold a three-point advantage at 19-16. The Owls battled back within two at 20-18, but FAU could not find an answer to late in the first as Tulane eventually took the opening frame 25-21 to take the early 1-0 advantage.

The Owls took the early lead in the second, opening the match on a 7-5 run, however, the Green Wave answered back, responding with a 6-1 run to take the lead 11-8 and force an FAU timeout. Out of the break, a trio of blocks from the Owls sparked a 7-2 run, capped off by kills from Libby Ashline and Olivia Hart, to put the Owls back in front 15-13 at the second set technical break. The Owls continued the momentum to eventually extend their lead to five at 19-14 after Tulane's first timeout of the second. The Green Wave cut the Owls lead to three at 20-17, however, the Owls would not break, closing out the set on a 5-1 run to take the second 25-18 and tie up the match at one apiece, 1-1.

FAU continued its dominant play into the third, opening the set on a 10-6 run and forcing an early Green Wave timeout. The Owls extended their lead off a 5-2 run that was capped off by a Northam ace to give the Owls a seven-point lead, 15-8, at the technical break. The Green Wave could not find an answer to the Owls' dominant play in the third set as FAU eventually took the third 25-14, closed out by a kill from Hartman, to give the Owls the 2-1 lead.

The Owls once again took the early lead in the fourth, opening the set on a 5-3 run. However, the Green Wave answered back, going on a 7-3 run to take a 10-8 lead. Tulane continued to hold the advantage 15-12 at the third-set media break, however, the Owls rallied to tie up the set at 16-16 after a pair of kills from Marquez-Moreno and Sequoia Layne and a Maya Van Heyst ace. The Owls kept the set within one through a 19-18 Tulane advantage, however, the Green Wave broke away through the remainder of the set, taking the fourth 25-19 to tie the match up at 2-2 and force a final tie-breaking fifth set.

The Green Wave took the early advantage in the fifth, opening the frame on a 4-2 run to force an early FAU timeout. Tulane maintained a two-point advantage through a 7-5 lead, however, the Owls started to rally, scoring six unanswered points to spark a pair of Tulane timeouts, leading 11-7. The Green Wave got one back out of the break, but the Owls would not be denied, dominating the rest of the final set with a 4-1 to capture the 15-9 win and the five-set upset win.

STATS & NOTES

Northam highlighted the Owls' win, breaking the program's career digs record and becoming Florida Atlantic's all-time digs leader, finishing with 19 digs and 1,398 career digs in the win.
Hart, Layne, and Hartman led the Owls offensively against the Green Wave. Hart finished with a team-leading 16 kills, while Layne finished with a season-high 15 kills on a match-best .650 hitting performance. Hartman rounded out the Owls double-figure scorers with 11 kills and tying Layne for a match-high four blocks in the win.
Van Heyst helped lead the Owls offense, finishing with a match-best 44 assists and posted her 7th double-double of the season with 11 digs.
As a team, Florida Atlantic outpaced the Green Wave in every single statistical category, including hitting percentage, .264 to .192, as well as in kills, 61-50, digs, 63-54, assists, 55-48, blocks, 9-7, service aces, 7-5, and points, 77-62.

GALLERY

Gallery: (10-16-2026) Florida Atlantic VB vs. Tulane (Oct. 16)

PRESS CONFERENCE

UP NEXT
The Owls will close out their two-game homestand on Sunday, Oct. 18, hosting the Charlotte 49ers for a 1 p.m. first serve inside Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

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