FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Atlantic volleyball (8-5) closed out play in the FGCU Classic on Saturday, falling in straight sets against Big Ten foe Maryland (9-2), 3-0 (22-25, 17-25, 22-25).
FLORIDA ATLANTIC 0 – MARYLAND 3
Romina Cornelio led the Owls offensively, tying for a match-high 11 kills and hitting .241, while also tallying six digs and dishing out a pair of assists. Katelynn Robine and Arianna Beckham tied for a team second-best seven kills in the match and Beckham posted a team-best five blocks. Victoria Hensley dished out a match-high 35 assists and Isabelle Northam recorded a match-best 15 digs.
The Owls and Terrapins battled back-and-forth to open the match, trading points to an eventual 15-15 stalemate, but a service ace from Katelynn Robine gave the Owls the 16-15 advantage. However, Maryland broke away on a 7-2 run off some Owl attack errors and and a trio of Terrapin kills to take a 22-18 lead. Florida Atlantic tried to battle back, but Maryland took the opening set 25-22 to hold the 1-0 lead.
The Terrapins grabbed a 4-1 lead early in the second. A Beckham kill kept the Owls within three at 11-8, however, Maryland produced a 10-3 to break things away and lead 21-11 late in the second. At set point, the Owls scored back-to-back-to-back points off kills from Cornelio and Beckham and a Terrapin error, however the Owls committed a service error to close out the set as Maryland won the second 25-17 to take a 2-0 advantage.
Florida Atlantic came out strong to open the third, outscoring Maryland 4-1 to take the early lead. The Owls maintained an advantage through 7-6 off a kill from Hensley, but the Terrapins responded to retake the lead. After a 15-12 Maryland advantage, the Owls outscored the Terrapins a 10-4 to lead 22-19 as the Owls’ looked to force a set four, however Maryland retook the momentum, scoring six unanswered over the remainder of the set to capture the third 25-22 and close out the match, 3-0.
UP NEXT
Next, the Owls will kick off their inaugural conference season in the American Athletic Conference, heading to the Lone Star State to face off against the North Texas Mean Green. First serve is set for 6 p.m. ET inside the North Texas Volleyball Center.
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