Owls Sweep Hornets in Non-Conference Finale

Saturday, September 19

Boca Raton, Fla.

2 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

7-4,0-0American

Alabama State

2-11,0-0SWAC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Alabama St.	13	15	27	0
Fla. Atlantic	25	25	29	3

Maya Van Heyst vs. Alabama State (Sept. 19)

9/19/2026 7:11:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic volleyball team closed out its non-conference slate on Saturday, earning a straight-set sweep, 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 29-27), over Alabama State at Abessinio Court at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

The Owls close out non-conference play at 7-4, while Alabama State drops to 2-11 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Owls opened the match on a 6-1 run, capped off by back-to-back aces from Isabelle Northam and a kill from Olivia Hart. FAU continued its dominant match-opening performance, outscoring the Hornets 12-3 en route to an 18-4 advantage late in the first. Alabama State started to battle back, cutting the Owls' lead to 10 at 23-13, but a Hornets attacking error and a kill from Maya Van Heyst clinched the Owls' 25-13 opening-set win.

After battling through a 9-8 FAU advantage to open set two, the Owls scored three unanswered off a kill and ace from Libby Ashline and a Hornet attacking error. That gave the Owls a four-point advantage at 12-8 and sparked Alabama State to call its first timeout of the second. The Owls extended their lead to six, 20-14, after another Ashline kill as the Hornets called their second and final timeout of the set. The Owls and Hornets traded points before FAU closed the set on a 4-0 scoring run, capped off by a pair of aces from Ashline and a Van Heyst kill to claim the second 25-15 and give the Owls the two-set advantage.

The Owls struck first in the third, taking a 2-0 lead. Alabama State responded to score four unanswered to take the advantage, 4-2, however, back-to-back kills from Hart sparked a 6-0 Owl run to retake the lead, 8-4, and force the Hornets to call their first timeout of the third. Following a 15-8 FAU lead at the technical timeout, Alabama State scored four unanswered to force the Owls to call their first timeout of the set, holding a three-point lead 15-12.

The Hornets continued to chip away at the Owls advantage, eventually tying up the set at 16 all. FAU extended its lead back to two at 20-18, but the Hornets once again brought things even at 21-21 to force the Owls to call their second and final timeout of the set. The squads traded points until the Hornets scored back-to-back points to take the lead 25-24 and hold set point. The Owls and Hornets continued to trade blows through a 27-27 stalemate, but an Alabama State service error and one final kill from Ashline closed out the match, giving the Owls the 29-27 set three win and clinching the straight-set sweep.

STATS & NOTES

Hart and Marquez-Moreno led the way offensively for the Owls, recording 12 and 10 kills, respectively.
Van Heyst had another phenomenal game, leading the Owls to a phenomenal .458 hitting performance, while dishing out a match-best 39 assists, averaging 13 assists per set, and adding six digs and five kills against the Hornets.
Northam led the Owls' back row, finishing with a match-best 14 digs in the match.
Hart, Ashline and Layne led the Owls' block, tying for a match-high two blocks apiece.
As a team, the Owls had a dominant Saturday against the Hornets, outhitting Alabama State .458 to .181, while also holding advantages in kills (51-29), blocks (4-2), assists (48-28) and digs (35-33).

GALLERY

Gallery: (9-19-2026) VB vs. Alabama State (Sept. 19)

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

UP NEXT
The Owls now set their sights on American Conference play, beginning with a trip to Denton, Texas to face off against the North Texas Mean Green on Friday, Sept. 25. First serve is set for 7 p.m. ET inside the UNT Volleyball Center.

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