BOCA RATON, Fla. – (Oct. 13, 2019) – After suffering its first home loss in almost two years, the Florida Atlantic University volleyball team bounced back with a sweep (25-23, 25-13, 25-23) of a persistent Charlotte squad on Sunday. The Owls are now 9-7 and 3-2 in Conference USA this season.
Key Plays
The Owls found themselves in a hole early in the first set, trailing 8-4. FAU eventually tied the score at 12 on a Sydney Nemtuda kill, but Charlotte (11-10, 1-4) regained control and went up 18-15. The 49ers’ lead was still three at 21-18, but seniors Jordan Yauch and Massiel Matos sandwiched kills around a Nemtuda service ace to tie the score. Cailea Gibbs found an open spot on the Charlotte side of the net to put the Owls up 22-21. Back-to-back points for Charlotte made the score 23-22 in its favor. However, Yauch and Matos once again put away kills, this time wrapped around a 49er attack error to finish the rally and take the set for FAU.
Strong serving by the Owls was the story in set number two. Nemtuda, Camryn Vogler and Matos all enjoyed extended service runs as FAU was able to pull away early. An Emily Hise kill ended the frame with a 25-13 victory.
The third set was back and forth most of the way. Charlotte got out to a quick start, taking an 8-5 edge. The Owls found their rhythm and used a 5-0 run to go up 14-11. The 49ers answered and went up 17-15. FAU tied the match, but Charlotte went back up by two, 23-21. Gibbs and Yauch teamed up on a block that kickstarted a rally, capped off by a pair of kills from Matos, to complete the sweep for the Owls.
Notables
- Massiel Matos had a match-high 10 kills and added eight digs
- Cailea Gibbs posted nine kills and six total blocks
- Sigourney Kame tallied nine kills of her own
- Sydney Nemtuda finished just shy of a double-double with nine kills and 14 digs to go along with four service aces
- Nikki Lakman dished out 25 assists and collected nine digs
- Kori Varney registered 12 digs
Quotable
Junior Setter Nikki Lakman
“We’ve been doing a really good job of just sticking together. The score can go up and down, but we try not to play by the score, we just play hard on each point.
What’s Next
The Owls wrap up their three match homestand against UTEP on Sunday, Oct. 20. Match time is set for noon. Live stats and live video will be available at fausports.com. Live updates will be posted to the team’s official Twitter account, @FAUVolleyball.
– FAUSports.com –
Florida Atlantic University Athletics:
FAU Athletics is comprised of 21 intercollegiate teams involving 450 student-athletes that compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, volleyball, beach volleyball, cheer and dance. The Owls are a NCAA Division I-A (FBS) institution and compete in Conference USA and the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) (beach volleyball, men’s swimming). The Owls have been playing football since 2001 and are a perfect 3-0 in bowl games, the most recent being a 50-3 victory over Akron in the 2017 Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl. The dance team finished its 2014 season No. 8, nationally. FAU cheer won a national championship in 2016.
About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.
