FAU made sure to have a get-right weekend with a dominant 3-0 stint by the Owls to win the Owls Paradise Classic. The wins came over Illinois State (5-8), Mercer (10-2), and Stetson (3-8) to improve Florida Atlantic’s record to 8-4 before American Athletic Conference play. Florida Atlantic vs Illinois St Friday started off against Illinois State in a close match. Starting set one, teams traded points as it was an 11-11 tie before the Redbirds went on a 9-2 run to take a 20-13 advantage. Florida Atlantic fought back as the Owls went on a 9-2 run to the set at 22. Illinois State closed the set out on a 3-1 run to take the opening set 25-23. Set two started off the way set one ended with a Redbirds 3-1 lead to take the early advantage. Florida Atlantic strikes back with a 5-0 run to take the 6-3 lead. The Owls maintained their lead before ISU 4-0 run tied the set at 12. Trading the lead, the Redbirds took the 15-14 advantage, but FAU went on a 7-0 run to regain the lead at 21-15. Illinois State fought back to bring the set to only a one point lead for the Owls held on to win the set 25-23. Set three saw the Redbirds pull away to an early six point lead. Florida Atlantic fought back as they made it a one point set at 14-13. FAU followed that up with a 9-4 run capped off by a Natalie Depaula kill to take a four point lead 22-18. The Owls held on to take the match advantage 2-1 with a 25-21 victory in set three. Set four was not one to remember for FAU as the Redbirds jumped out to a 12-4 lead and did not look back with a 25-13 set four victory. The decisive set five was close as at the side swap it was an 8-6 advantage for the Owls. Illinois State kept pulling the set within one, but FAU pulled away to win 15-12 from an Olivia Hart (pictured above, Angelina LaBelle) kill to beat the Redbirds 3-2. Florida Atlantic vs Mercer Later Friday, it was time for the Owls to face off against Mercer. Coming into the match Mercer was 10-1 on the year. Set one started off close as the set was 13 all. Noelle Stephens (pictured above, Angelina LaBelle) then closed out a 5-0 run with an ace to give the owls the 18-13 advantage. Mercer then went on a 6-1 run to even the set back at 19. Florida Atlantic regained the lead 21-19 before the Bears responded to tie up the set again at 21-21. Finally for the Owls, a 4-0 run by FAU finished off the set for a 25-21 victory. Mercer, trailing 1-0, captured an early 11-7 lead before the Owls went on a 4-0 run to draw the set at 11. The teams could not pull away from each other as it was 20-20 before a FAU 5-1 run secured the set for the Owls 25-21. As the Owls held the 2-0 advantage, Mercer fought hard as set three stayed close before the Bears stretched their lead to 20-16. Florida Atlantic fought back as they tied the set at 20. As the 25 point mark was hit, it was 25-25 before Mercer was able to stop the Owls and win 27-25. To start the fourth set the Owls were finally able to gain their own advantage with a 9-3 lead. FAU only stretched their lead as they easily won the fourth set 25-10 to win the match 3-1. Friday Stats Leaders Katelynn Robine led FAU in both matches as she recorded 15 kills in both contests. Victoria Hensley added to her career assists number gaining 49 assists against the Red Birds and 39 assists against Mercer. Brianna Anderson and Hensley both earned 14 digs against the Red Birds while Valeria Rosado earned 11 digs against the Bears. Finally, Kaila Ru earned herself four blocks against ISU while Depaula garnered a career-best seven blocks over Mercer. Florida Atlantic vs Stetson The final opponent for Florida Atlantic in the Owls Paradise Classic was in-state foe Stetson. The Hatters were still searching for their first set win in the tournament as they were swept by Mercer and Illinois State. FAU was looking to add its eighth win of the season. Set one started off with Stetson jumping out to a 5-0 lead. FAU then went on a 10-5 run to even the set up 10-10. The Owls continued to dominate as their attack led to an 8-1 scoring run before Stetson had to call a timeout. Florida Atlantic led 18-11. The high powered machine that was FAU went on to stretch their lead to 12 as the Owls won the first set 25-13. Set two was a close one as a Natalie Depaula block capped off a 10-6 start for FAU before a Stetson timeout. The Hatters benefited from a 6-1 scoring run to even the set at 13. FAU responded with a four point run to take the advantage again at 17-13. As the runs continued Stetson answered back with their own four point run to even the set again at 17. Stetson gained their first lead of the set at 18-17. The Hatters went on to win the set 25-21. Stetson started set three by jumping out to an 8-3 lead before a Florida Atlantic timeout. With the help of a 3-0 scoring run, FAU was able to draw the set even at 14 all. The Hatters jumped ahead 17-15 as the Owls called a timeout to regroup. Florida Atlantic gained their first advantage from a 4-0 scoring run to take a 20-19 lead. The Owls added one more before another Hatters timeout at 21-19. The Owls held on to win the set 25-21. The fourth set belonged to the Owls to start as Florida Atlantic had a 7-3 lead before a Hatters timeout. Stetson battled back to tie the set before they went on to take an 11-8 lead before an Owls timeout. The Hatters extended their lead to five with a 15-10 advantage. Florida Atlantic had a productive timeout that sparked a comeback to draw the set within one at 15-14. The Owls continued with a 6-0 run to gain the lead at 16-15. The Owls extended their lead to two, 19-17. FAU continued the dominance, and with the help of a six point scoring run the Owls held on to win the set 25-23 and the match 3-1. With the win the Owls swept and won the Owls Paradise Classic trophy. Valeria Rosado led the Owls in kills with her total of 15, as a team FAU had 64. Victoria Hensley led in assists with 51. Olivia Hart had a team leading 13 kills as Florida Atlantic had a team total of 69. Madison Dyer (pictured above, Angelina LaBelle) had a total of six blocks with the Owls garnering 11. Dyer earned a spot on the all-tournament team, and the MVP of the Owls Paradise Classic was Katelynn Robine. Home is where the wins are for the Owls as wrapping up non-conference play, Florida Atlantic finished with a 6-1 record at the Elly. Coach Fernanda Nelson had this to offer after today’s victory: ? Post Game with @FAUVolleyball Head Coach @nelson3fernanda After Sweeping the Owls Paradise Classic ?? #FAU #NCAAVolleyball pic.twitter.com/NQcHoiOrq5 — FAU Owls Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) September 21, 2024 Florida Atlantic (8-4) will host East Carolina University (7-3). The Owls finished the 2023 season 12-7 in conference play. Against ECU, the Owls went 1-1 with an 0-3 loss and a 3-1 win last season. The Pirates have played a tough schedule, including #1 Pittsburgh in which the Pirates were swept. East Carolina was projected to finish fourth while the Owls were projected to finish fifth in the AAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll. FAU takes on ECU on Friday, Sept. 27, 6 P.M. at the Elly in Boca Raton.
