FAU lost a nail-biter to Bryant before completing a sweep of Seton Hall. The matches would give the Owls a 1-1 start to the season in the Florida Atlantic Invitational.
The Owls took on the Bryant Bulldogs in their first match of the day. It was Bryant winning the first set 25-17 before the Owls were able to pull off two straight wins in sets two and three; both wins by double digits. The fourth set was won by Bryant, forcing a deciding set. The final set was a back and forth affair before the Bulldogs used a 7-0 scoring run to eke out the win 15-11.
Florida Atlantic outscored Bryant 97-90 in total points for the match, while kills were a tied stat at 53 for each time. The Owls had the advantage in aces and blocks, but it was the errors that cost FAU the match. The Owls committed 15 attack errors and had three ball handling errors. A total of 18 compared to the 10 the Bulldogs committed (eight attack errors and two ball handling errors).
Later in the day the Owls took on Seton Hall for FAU’s Freshman Night. Freshmen Natalie Depaula (21) and Maggie Allred (24) were two of the four freshmen to get the starting nod for Florida Atlantic. The Owls got off to a hot start in set one taking a lead of 10-4. The lead held around a 5 point deficit for most of the set until FAU would pull away winning the set 25-17.
As the teams switched sides of the floor, the Owls began set two as well as they finished the first set. FAU jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Seton Hall took a timeout to think their attack over. The break seemed to work for the Pirates as they were able to pull the set even 9-9. The rest of the set went back and forth before Florida Atlantic won set two 25-23.
Finally, set three was more of the same for the Owls as they were able to take the lead early 10-6. Florida Atlantic pulled away from the help of the early start to complete the sweep of Seton Hall in the final set 25-15. The Owls win their second match of the season 3-0.
Senior Valeria Rosado (7) led the way in kills for the Owls with her total of 15. The team total was 46 compared to the Pirates 26. Florida Atlantic had five aces compared to the 3 of the Pirates. Lastly, FAU had 57 digs compared to Seton Hall’s 47.
To end the Florida Atlantic Invitational the Owls (1-1) will face the Ball State Cardinals (2-0). Ball State finished the 2023 season 17-15 with an appearance in the Super 16 of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. Friday, the Cardinals swept Seton Hall in the first match of the tournament. The second match of the day was a win for Ball State against Bryant in another sweep for the Cardinals.
The match between FAU and Ball State starts at 1 PM, Saturday, August 31st in Boca Raton. It can be streamed live on FAUSports.com.