Owls Battle Tough in Four-Set Loss at No. 10 Florida - Florida Atlantic University Athletics

Friday, September 11

Gainesville, Fla.

7 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

3-3,0-0American

Florida

6-1,0-0SEC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Fla. Atlantic	25	18	15	18	1
Florida	23	25	25	25	3

9/11/2026 10:39:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic Owls battled tough against the No. 10-ranked team in the nation but ultimately dropped the four-set affair against the Florida Gators, 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 15-25, 18-25) on Friday evening inside the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

Florida Atlantic falls to 3-3, while Florida moves to 6-1 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Owls and Gators traded points through the first half of the opening set, leading to an eventual 15-14 Florida lead at the first media timeout of the match. The teams continued to trade points through an 18-17 Florida advantage, until a Gator service error, a pair of kills from Sara Gamboa and Maya Van Heyst, and a service ace from Libby Ashline gave the Owls their largest lead of the opening set at 21-18.

The Gators responded, scoring three unanswered to even the set at 21 apiece, forcing the Owls to call their first timeout of the match. Van Heyst's third kill of the set started a 3-1 FAU run, giving the Owls set point at 24-22 and forcing Florida to call its first timeout of the match. The Gators survived one set point, making it 24-23 Owls, but Anna Hartman called set, clinching the 25-23 opening set win off her third kill of the day.

FAU had a slow start to the second as the Gators jumped out to a quick 10-5 lead to open the set. Following a 15-8 Florida lead at the second set technical break, a pair of kills from Ashline and a block assist from Ashline and Van Heyst capped off a 4-0 FAU run, cutting the Owls' deficit to three, 15-12, and sparking a Gators' timeout. The Owls called their second and final timeout of the set, trailing 17-13, but it couldn't stifle the Gators' momentum as Florida closed the frame on an 8-5 run to take the second 25-18 and even the match at 1-1.

The Owls had a much stronger start to the third, opening the set on a 5-2 run, capped off by a kill from Sequoia Layne. Florida started cutting into the Owls' lead, going on a 9-3 run to take the lead 11-8 and force the Owls to call a timeout. After another Gators' point, the Owls scored three unanswered, capped off by a Van Heyst ace and a Florida attacking error to cut the deficit to one, 12-11. However, the Gators responded with a 7-0 run to extend their lead back out to 19-11. The Owls couldn't overcome the deficit through the remainder of the third as the Gators claimed the set 25-15 and took a 2-1 lead.

Florida took the early lead in the fourth, opening the set on a 5-2 run. The Owls then produced a 5-1 run to retake the lead 7-6. The squads battled back and forth, as the Owls won a challenge on a kill from Hartman to tie up the set 14-14 at the fourth set media timeout. Out of the break, the Gators went on a 6-1 run to take a five-point lead and force the Owls to call a timeout at 20-15. FAU couldn't close the gap the rest of the way as Florida outscored the Owls 5-3 to take the fourth, 25-18, and close out the match, 3-1.

STATS & NOTES

Layne led the way offensively for the Owls, scoring nine kills and hitting .304, while also leading the Owls at the net with a team-leading two blocks, and adding two digs on the night.
Van Heyst led the Owls in assists, dishing out a team high of 32, in addition to posting her fourth double-double of the season, tying Zoe Winford for a team-high 12 digs. She also finished with a season-high four aces in the match.
As a team, the Owls held outpaced the Gators at the service line in aces, 5-4.

UP NEXT
The Owls continue play in Gainesville on Saturday, taking on Troy at 2 p.m. ET inside the O'Connell Center.

FOLLOW THE OWLS
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