VB | No. 6 Owls Reverse Sweep No. 2 Rice to Punch AAC Championship Ticket

11/23/2024 | Women’s Volleyball | Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic Owls punched their ticket to the American Athletic Conference championship on Saturday, earning a reverse sweep, 3-2 (23-25, 14-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-10), against the No. 2-seeded Rice Owls.

Florida Atlantic improves to 18-12 on the season, and Rice falls to 19-8.

No. 6 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 3 – No. 2 RICE 2

The Owls battled early, swapping leads through an 11-10 Rice advantage. Florida Atlantic scored four unanswered to lead 14-11, but Rice answered back with a 6-0 run of its own to retake the lead 17-14. The Owls then went on a 5-2 run to knot the opening set up 19 all. A kill from Valeria Rosado brought the Owls even once more at 20-20, but Rice outscored Florida Atlantic 5-3 over the remainder of the set to take the 1-0 lead, 25-23.

Florida Atlantic opened the second on a 7-5 run to lead early but Rice then went on a 7-0 run to retake the lead 12-7. The Owls just couldn’t find an answer to Rice in the second set. Rice closed the set on a 13-7 run to take the second, 25-14, and lead the match 2-0.

The Owls opened the third on an 11-6 run to force an early Rice timeout. Florida Atlantic maintained a four-point advantage through a 14-10 lead, but Rice scored three unanswered to cut the deficit to one and spark an Owl timeout, 14-13. Out of the timeout, the Owls scored three unanswered to retake a four-point advantage, 17-13, but Rice came battling back to even the set at 18-18 as the Owls called their second timeout of the set. Rice took the lead 19-18, but the Owls once again went on a 3-0 scoring run to spark Rice’s second timeout of the third, leading 21-19. Florida Atlantic led 23-20, following back-to-back kills from Madison Dyer and Victoria Hensley. Rice tried to rally, scoring two to bring it back within one, but a block from Kaila Ru and Hensley and a kill from Katelynn Robine closed out the Owls’ 25-22 victory in the third, 2-1.

Rice led early in the fourth, opening the set on a 10-6 run, sparking a Florida Atlantic timeout. The Owls then produced a 5-1 run to tie up the set at 11-11 as Rice called its first timeout of the fourth. Dyer registered an ace out of the timeout to push the Owls in front, sparking a 7-4 Florida Atlantic run to put the Owls in front by three as Rice took its final timeout of the fourth. Rice brought things back within two at 19-17, but the Owls would not be denied as they closed out the set on a 6-3 run to take the fourth, 25-20, and force a decisive fifth set.

Rice led 3-1 early in the fifth, but the Owls locked in to score eight unanswered, rallying to take a 9-3 advantage. Rice closed within four, making it 10-6, but another 4-0 Florida Atlantic run gave the Owls match point. Rice rallied to score four unanswered, cutting the Owls’ lead to four, 14-10, but Dyer and Rosado combined for the block to close out the match, 15-10, as the Owls completed the comeback to secure the reverse sweep victory, 3-2.

STATS & NOTES

  • Katelynn Robine had her best performance of the season so far, posting a season-high 20 kills and hitting an impressive .322 clip, while also adding four blocks and four digs.
  • Valeria Rosado also posted double-figure kills with 13 and tallied her 13th double-double of the season with a team-leading 14 digs.
  • Victoria Hensley finished with a team-high 43 assists, posting her 12th double-double of the season with 11 digs and adding four kills, four blocks, and three aces.
  • Kaila Ru recorded a match-leading nine blocks and added six kills in the win.

UP NEXT

The Owls will get ready to compete for a conference championship tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 24, as they face off against host and No. 4-seed Wichita State in the American Athletic Conference Championship. First serve is set for 1 p.m. ET inside Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas.

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