A busy weekend at the Elly brought the top two teams in the AAC to Paradise. After sweeping second place Rice, FAU turned to USF (11-8, 7-1 AAC). The Bulls brought their seven match win streak and top spot in the American to Boca Raton, but that was no worry for the Owls as FAU flew past South Florida 3-1. Starting the action in set one, FAU had an early 9-6 lead after Olivia Hart had two straight aces. At the next stoppage of play Florida Atlantic extended their lead to five, 16-11, after two USF errors. The Owls trying to close out the first set called a timeout as the Bulls brought the set within three: 21-18. South Florida chipped away at the FAU lead as it was only a two point deficit: 23-21. A Valeria Rosado (pictured below, Angelina LaBelle) kill finished set one in favor of Florida Atlantic: 25-21. Set two saw a great start for FAU as the Owls jumped out to an 11-6 lead before a South Florida timeout. Owls domination continued as FAU stretched their advantage to 19-11. USF fought back valiantly, but a Katelynn Robine’s eighth kill of the match ended the second set; 25-17. FAU was one set victory away from earning wins against the top two teams in the American in the same weekend. Set three saw the Owls fly ahead 8-5 after a Madison Dyer block. At the first stoppage of play, FAU had extended their lead to five, as Kayla Richardson (pictured above, Angelina LaBelle) and Kaila Ru (pictured above, Angelina LaBelle) shared a block to give the Owls a 13-8 advantage. With the help from a three-point run, the Bulls fought back within two: 15-13. The lead for FAU held at two as both teams traded attacks. After a Rosado kill extended the lead 22-19 for Florida Atlantic, South Florida called a timeout searching for a way to stop the FAU attack. USF responded by going on a 5-1 run to take the advantage from the Owls: 24-23. The set was nowhere near finished as FAU and USF continued past the 25 point threshold as it was 25 all. The Bulls were able to score two in a row to continue the match. USF won set three: 27-25. With the 2-1 advantage, FAU jumped out to a 4-1 lead in set four. USF fought back to only be down one, 9-8 FAU. Florida Atlantic then went on a 9-2 run to take a commanding 18-10 lead. The rest of the set became the Rosado show as she put the Owls on her back to carry FAU to the 25-14 victory over the AAC’s top team. Florida Atlantic won the match 3-1. As a team the Owls had a .319 hit%. That number compared to USF’s .160 hit% is all one needs to know to figure out who won this match. USF made costly mistakes as the Bulls committed 31 errors compared to Florida Atlantic’s 13. Rosado led the Owls in kills with her total of 15 as FAU had 51 in the match. Romina Cornelio led FAU in digs as she accumulated ten; FAU battled for 51 digs in the match as well. Madison Dyer led Florida Atlantic in blocks with her total of seven as the Owls had 14. Victoria Hensley had 46 assists on the day. Florida Atlantic (12-8, 4-4 AAC) travels to Greenville, N.C. to face East Carolina (12-6, 4-3 AAC). The Owls are still searching for a conference road-win. The last time FAU hosted ECU was Sept. 27. FAU was dominant in the first set winning 25-15, but the rest of the match was all Pirates. This time around FAU brings momentum on the road. A huge next three road games can bring FAU to the top of the American Athletic. The match between the Pirates and Owls is October. 25 at 6 P.M.
