CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Florida Atlantic volleyball team (18-11, 10-6 AAC) picked up its second AAC sweep of the season, fending off the Charlotte 49ers (10-18, 3-13 AAC) for a huge five-set win, 3-2, inside Halton Arena on Sunday afternoon.
“Big win today, Charlotte really challenged us in every way, but we were the tougher team in the fifth set,” expressed head coach Fernanda Nelson. “Our girls played great defense all game long and scored on the big swings to be able to win. Our girls are working hard every day and are getting better every week. They played their hearts out today!”
FLORIDA ATLANTIC 3 – CHARLOTTE 2
Katelynn Robine led the Owls in the win, tallying a season-best 20 kills on a .250 clip, and adding seven digs. Arianna Beckham and Valeria Rosado also had a big day for the Owls, recording a pair of double-doubles. Beckham posted a team second-best 15 kills to go along with 14 digs, while Rosado tallied her team-leading ninth double-double with 18 digs and to go along with 14 kills. Victoria Hensley also tallied a double-double, marking her seventh this season, as she dished out a match-high 54 assists and tied for a team-leading 19 digs in the win.
Charlotte opened the match on a 7-3 run. The Owl battled back, outscoring the 49ers 8-4 to even things out at 11 apiece. Charlotte retook the lead at 13-11, however, the Owls responded with a 4-0 run to take their first lead of the match, 15-13, at the first set media timeout. The two squads remained even at 18-18, but the Owls locked in over the remainder of the set, only giving up one point on an attack error, going on a 7-1 run to close out the first, 25-19.
The 49ers held the early lead again in the second, opening the set on a 5-2 run. Florida Atlantic responded on a 10-3 run to take a 12-8 lead and spark a Charlotte timeout. However, the Owls lead was short-lived as the 49ers scored 10 unanswered to take a six-point lead at 18-12. Florida Atlantic tried to battle back, fighting back within one at set-point, 24-23, however, an attack error closed out the second as Charlotte evened the match at 1-1, 25-23.
Following a 3-2 Charlotte lead, the Owls produced a 5-0 run to take a 7-3 lead. Florida Atlantic tacked on two more to lead 13-7 after back-to-back kills from Robine, a kill from Rosado, and a 49er attacking error. The Owls didn’t look back as they continued to pour it on, outscoring the 49ers 12-9 over the remainder of the third to take retake the match lead 2-1, 25-16.
Charlotte once again took an early lead in the fourth, 6-3, but the Owls battled back quickly to even things up at seven. The Owls struggled over the remainder of the fourth as Charlotte outscored Florida Atlantic 18-7 to force a decisive fifth set, 25-14.
Much like the following four sets, Charlotte led early in the fifth, holding an 8-4 lead, however, the Owls would not go away, producing an impressive 11-2 run down the stretch to lead frog the 49ers and take the five-set thriller, 3-2, with a 15-10 win in the fifth.
UP NEXT
The Owls return home for their final home series of the regular season, hosting the USF Bulls on Thursday, Nov. 16 and on Friday, Nov. 17 for senior day inside Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
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