FAU volleyball went 1-1 on Friday in Day One of the Red Raider Classic with a come from behind victory over Green Bay and a hard fought loss against host team Texas Tech.
The day started off with a five-set thriller for Florida Atlantic as they were able to get past Green Bay 3-2.
Set one was owned by the Phoenix as they won 25-15. The loss guaranteed the Owls three match sweep streak ended at three. FAU bounced back with their own dominant performance by using a 12-3 run after a 5-5 tie to pull away and win set two 25-17. Set three stayed close as there was a 9-9 tie before Florida Atlantic was not able to keep up with the attack of Green Bay. Set three ended in a final of 25-16.
As Green Bay took a 2-1 advantage into set four it was time for the Owls to make a comeback. The fourth set went to a 13-13 tie before FAU took charge and took a 4-point advantage. Florida Atlantic kept a tight hold on the lead as they finished set four with a win 25-21.
Deciding set five was a breeze for the Owls as they jumped out 14-4 lead with the help of an 11-1 scoring run. The Phoenix fought back, but their attacks failed as the Owls won set five 15-7 to start the day 1-0.
Florida Atlantic’s Natalie Depaula led the Owls in blocks with her total of four as the Owls as a team had eight. Depaula also tied with her teammate Madison Dyer in kills on the match at 14 each. Florida Atlantic’s team total was 55 compared to Green Bay’s 46. To close out Isabelle Northam garnered 22 digs as she led FAU to their team total of 88.
Match two was against Big 12 opponent and host Texas Tech. The Owls, now on a four match win streak, looked to extend their streak to five in the two schools first ever meeting.
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To start the match, set one saw no advantage as the largest lead of the set was two. Texas Tech took the lead 13-11, but the Owls hung on as they stayed neck and neck with the Red Raiders. Florida Atlantic took the advantage again 15-14 before the media timeout. TTU took the lead afterwards, but FAU snatched it back at 21-20. Finally, the Owls gained a two point advantage and won the set 25-23.
Texas Tech had a two point advantage to start set two, but Florida Atlantic used a great scoring run to take their own two point lead at 9-7. Just like the first set though, back and forth was the name of the game. At the media timeout TTU had the largest lead of the set at 13-10. The Red Raiders expanded on their lead to win the set 25-19
Set three saw Texas Tech taking a five point advantage at 11-6. The five point lead dwindled away at times, but Florida Atlantic had no answer as Texas Tech won 25-19 taking a 2-1 match advantage.
Rally time it was for the Owls in set four, but Texas Tech made things difficult by jumping out to an early 8-2 lead. After a Florida Atlantic run they were able to cut the lead down to two at 8-6. Finally, FAU came back to tie the set at 11. The media break timeout was a TTU 15-12 lead. When Florida Atlantic used their first timeout they were still down three, 18-15. Florida Atlantic forced a Texas Tech timeout after tying the set again at 19. Sadly, the comeback was not enough as the Red Raiders won set four 25-21. The final was 3-1.
Florida Atlantic falls to 4-2 on the year as the Red Raiders advance to 4-1. Former LSU Tiger Brianna Anderson led in digs (27) as the Owls were able to have 81 while Texas Tech had 79. TTU had 61 kills to Florida Atlantic’s 49. To end, Texas Tech had 8 blocks while FAU had 6.
The Owls finish the Red Raider Classic against North Arizona University. The Lumberjacks are 2-3 on the season with straight-sweep losses against Texas Tech and Green Bay. The match starts at 11 A.M. EDT on Saturday, September 7th.