Volleyball Opens Owls Paradise Classic with Pair of Sweeps

Friday, September 18

Boca Raton, Fla.

11 a.m.

Florida Atlantic

5-4,0-0American

Alabama State

2-9,0-0SWAC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Alabama St.	9	21	19	0
Fla. Atlantic	25	25	25	3

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Stetson	17	9	16	0
Fla. Atlantic	25	25	25	3

9/18/2026 10:31:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic Owls opened play in their Owls Paradise Classic on Friday, earning a pair of sweeps over Alabama State, 3-0 (25-9, 25-21, 25-19), and Stetson, 3-0 (25-17, 25-9, 25-16), at Abessinio Court at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

Florida Atlantic improved to 6-4, while Alabama State fell to 2-9 and Stetson dropped to 3-7 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
GAME ONE
Florida Atlantic opened the match on a dominant 7-0 run, capped off by back-to-back kills from Anna Hartman. Following a 13-7 Owl lead, Florida Atlantic scored eight unanswered to triple up the Hornets, 21-7. The Owls continued to roll, outscoring Alabama State 4-2, closed out by a kill from Natalie Depaula, to take a dominant 21-9 win and the 1-0 lead.

After trading runs through a 7-6 FAU lead to open the second, a trio of kills from Olivia Hart, Maya Van Heyst, and Libby Ashline, highlighted a 4-0 Owl run to extend the lead to five, 11-6. The Owls took a four-point lead into the second set technical timeout, 15-11. Out of the break, Alabama State slowly battled back, eventually cutting the Owls advantage to just one, 21-20, However, Luye Marquez-Moreno sparked and capped off the Owls set-ending 4-1 run, to take the second 25-21 and the two-set lead.

The Owls opened the third on a 6-4 run, but Alabama State hit back with a 6-1 run to take a 10-7 lead early in the third. However, FAU answered right back, scoring eight unanswered, retaking the lead 15-10 through the third set media timeout. The Hornets battled back, cutting the Owls' lead down to two at 18-16. The Owls held the two-point advantage through 21-19 before Depaula sparked a match-closing 4-0 run to cap off set three 25-19 and close out the straight-set sweep.

GAME TWO
Stetson got on the board first, but the Owls took the early advantage, opening the match to a 12-8 advantage. The Owls doubled their lead to 16-8 after a 4-0 run, capped off by a kill from Hart.. FAU extended the lead to 11 through 21-10, before a 4-0 Stetson run cut the Owls' lead down to seven, 21-14; however, it wasn't enough as the Owls outscored the Hatters 5-4 the rest of the way to take the opening frame 25-17 and take the 1-0 lead.

The Owls had a dominant performance to open set two, outpacing the Hatters 13-2. FAU took a 15-4 lead into the second set technical break. Stetson got one back after the timeout, but back-to-back kills from Sequoia Layne sparked a 5-0 Owl run, giving FAU a 15-point lead, 20-5, late in the second. The Hatters got a few back, making it 23-9, however, it was too little too late as kills from Van Heyst and Depaula capped of a dominant set two performance for the Owls, 25-9, taking the 2-0 advantage.

Layne got a 5-0 FAU run started to open the third. Stetson kept up the fight, battling back within two at 10-8, but the Owls answered back on a 5-2 run to hold a 15-10 advantage at the third set media break. FAU pushed the lead to seven at 20-13. The Hatters got two back to cut the Owls' lead back to five, at 20-15, but the Owls closed out the match with a 5-1 run, capped off by back-to-back kills from Depaula to take the third 25-16 and complete the straight-set sweep.

STATS & NOTES

Game one
- Hartman and Hart led the way for the Owls against Alabama State, tying for a match-high nine kills apiece. Hartman had a dominant performance, leading the team with an impressive .643 hitting clip, while also adding two blocks.
- Van Heyst turned in her fifth double-double of the season, dishing out a match-best 33 assists and tying for a team-leading 13 digs, in addition to five kills, two blocks, and a pair of service aces against the Hornets.
- Isabelle Northam also tied for a team-high 13 digs in the match.
- Ashline paced the Owls at the net, finishing with a match-high four blocks.
- As a team, the Owls dominated Alabama State in every statistical category, outhitting the Hornets .358 to .107, while also holding advantages in kills (47-27), aces (5-2), blocks (6-2), assists (45-26), and digs (53-47).
- Florida Atlantic improves to 4-0 all-time vs. Alabama State and Friday's win marked the first home victory for the Owls over the Hornets.
Game two
- Hart turned in another impressive performance to cap off the day for the Owls, posting a match-best 14 kills on a strong .407 hitting performance, while also finishing with eight digs against the Hornets.
- Van Heyst led the Owls in assists, dishing out 41 assists across the three sets, while also adding three kills, three digs, and an ace in the match.
- Defensively, Northam led the Owls' back row, recording a match-best 13 digs, while Layne and Ashline tied for a team-leading two blocks on the night.
- As a team, the Owls outpaced the Hatters nearly across the board, leading the match in kills (57-24), service aces (3-0), assists (50-23), digs (44-30), in addition to outhitting Stetson, .451 to .143.
- FAU improves to 44-5 all-time against Stetson and remains an unbeaten 28-0 when playing in Paradise.

GALLERIES

Gallery: (9-18-2026) VB vs. Alabama State (Sept. 18)

Gallery: (9-18-2026) VB vs. Stetson (Sept. 18)

PRESS CONFERENCES

Game One

Game Two

UP NEXT
The Owls close out non-conference play on Saturday, Sept. 19, taking on Alabama State once more in their non-conference finale. First serve is set for 2 p.m. inside Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena. Fans can also watch live on FAUSports.com/Watch.

FOLLOW THE OWLS
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