On Sept. 20 and 21, the Florida Atlantic University Owls’ women’s volleyball team (8-4) hosted the 2024 Owls Paradise Classic. Three other schools competed: Mercer University Bears (10-3), Illinois State University Redbirds (5-8) and Stetson University Hatters (3-8). 

The tournament had six total games, each team played each other and the overall number of wins determined the winner. FAU went 3-0 over the weekend to take the championship position. Illinois ended second after going 2-1, Mercer came in third, 1-2 and Stetson came in fourth, 0-3. 

Game one: Sept. 20 at 12 p.m. against Illinois State Redbirds

The Owls won their first game of the Paradise Classic in a close game with the Redbirds 3-2 (25-23, 25-22, 25-21, 12-25, 15-12). 

It was a tight matchup between the two teams as they had similar hitting percentages, Illinois with .152 and FAU with .142. Outside hitter Katelynn Robine led the Owls with 15 kills and two aces. Illinois outside hitter Aida Shadewald led their team offensively with 16 kills. 

“We were just high error today; it’s unusual for us. We haven’t had a game with so many errors. I asked them to stop giving everything away, that we were hurting ourselves, that we needed to take care of our side of the net,” said FAU head coach Fernanda Nelson. 

Recap

Florida Atlantic began the game with the serve, but setter Victoria Hensley served the ball out. Illinois State’s outside hitter Oliwia Caputa had a hard hand as she found the seam between one and six for a kill, 4-4. 7 FAU came from the back row, gaining a kill of her own, cutting Illinois St.’s lead to one. 

The Owls’ outside hitter Kayla Richardson hit cross court to end a long rally between the teams. Illinois called a coach’s challenge to try to reverse a touch call from their blockers and it was successful, 12-11. Following the reverse, Caputa swung and killed to extend their lead to four points, then Richardson had an attacking error and FAU called a timeout.

FAU slowly started to creep back with kills from outside hitter Valeria Rosado and Robine. Richardson got more action too and her hit from outside that went down the line brought FAU within two.

Illinois called a timeout after FAU came back 21-20. Robine had a serving error that gave Illinois the first set, 25-23. 

Set two began in the Owls’ favor, with middle Madison Dyer having a kill out of service rotation. They built on that momentum and gained a 10-7 lead. Illinois right side hitter Ally Saleh crushed the ball down the line, ending FAU’s streak.

“When we’re down a couple of points I don’t really see the score. I just see that we need little milestones,” said Dyer. “Let’s just get two points here. Let’s just push to 10…I was telling my team, ‘We just need to push a little at a time, just like chip by chip and we’re gonna get there.’”

Frustration began to appear on the Owls’ faces as they allowed Illinois to go on a 4-0 run which tied the game at 12 a piece. Hensley went back to the serving line and the Owls were leading 14-13. 

Illinois St. ’s Shadewald overpassed the ball which gave FAU’s right side Natalie Depaula the opportunity to quickly jump and tip the ball back over, 20-15. The Owls continued with their momentum and a kill by Robine sealed the set, 25-22. 

In set three, the Redbirds took off running. They had five kills in a row to have an early 5-0 lead. Hensley connected with Rosado and the pair ended the streak, but not for long and Illinois St. continued to pound away at the net. 

The Owls called their second timeout when the score was 14-9. After the timeout, their mentality shifted and they began to limit self-made errors while Illinois St. made more. ISU tried to challenge a touch off the ball but it was unsuccessful, making FAU within three. 

FAU’s outside hitter Olivia Hart served an ace to give the Owls their first lead, 16-15. They continued with that. Depaula strategically hit the ball in between two ISU players and Shadewald tried to tip the ball just over the net but it fell short and FAU took the 25-21 win.

Self-made errors became a larger issue for the Owls, with multiple missed serves and balls hit in the net. ISU extended their lead 19-10 after defensive specialist Isabelle Northam passed a ball out of bounds. Owls’ middle Kaila Ru tried to push the ball deep to five but that went out too. The Redbirds continued to push closer to the finish line and an hitting error by Robine ended the set, 25-12. 

After a brief break, both teams came refreshed and brought high intensity into the final set. Illinois St. was called out of rotation then both teams exchanged service errors, 4-3 ISU. Shadewald looked like she was going to hit cross court but quickly turned the trajectory of her arm and went down the line to the one spot. She caught FAU off guard and gave ISU a one point lead. 

Dyer and Hensley connected on a fast paced one set and FAU led 8-6. The Owls continued with their offensive flow and a kill by Hart ended the game, 15-12. 

“I like to recover, so I go to the pool, stretch. I also like to read my Bible and just listen to worship music and just pray because God is the reason I play and he’s a person that gives me strength,” said Dyer on what she planned to do during the four hour break in the tournament. 

Game two: Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. against Mercer University Bears

FAU went into their second game of the day with confidence from earlier and defeated Mercer 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 25-27, 25-10). 

The key to success for the Owls was limiting their self-made errors. They ended the match with 50 kills and 19 errors, averaging a .240 hitting percentage while the Bears had 45 kills but 29 errors for a .113 hitting percentage. 

“Mercer is a great team. They’re coming in with a great record, really well coached and I thought that we played very aggressive. We served them very aggressive. We took them out of system, so it was easy to be able to block,” said Nelson.

Mercer began the match with a high level of communication, spectators could hear them making play calls and defensive players telling their hitters what spots were open. Their bench was loud too, they were making a high-pitched calling sound to distract FAU while they were up to serve. As the game progressed this level of communication fell, especially during the fourth set. 

Recap

Mercer began the first set with the serve and Robine quickly gained FAU the ball from a kill from outside, 1-0. The game flow started to go back and forth, each team exchanging kills and the largest lead was by two points. 

Dyer and Depaula began connecting well together when closing the block, gaining their second block to put FAU up 15-13. Dyer extended the lead to three with a quick tempo one set from Hensley, causing Mercer to call their first time out. 

FAU defensive specialist Noelle Stephens aced the Bears, forcing them to call their second timeout after FAU went on a 5-0 run. After the timeout, Mercer came back refreshed and began to capitalize off FAU’s errors, tying the set up 19-19. 

Rosado ended the Bears streak with a kill from outside and Ru reacted quickly to the Bears overpass and tipped it down for set point 24-21. Following that play, Mercer’s outside hitter Sydney VanCott swung into the net, handing FAU the 25-21 win.

“It’s just the mentality. When it’s game point you just want to go as hard as you can and I did that,” said Rosado. 

Entering the second set, the Owls began with a 1-0 lead from Robine’s kill. It started out with a similar back and forth flow, tying it up three times. It appeared that Dyer tipped the ball far out of bounds, but the Owls challenged the call for a touch and it was reversed, 7-5.

After two hitting errors by FAU and a kill from the Bear’s middle Joselynn Sanjurjo, Mercer took the largest lead of the set, 11-7. Robine matched that with two kills of her own, sparking the Owls’ 4-0 run to tie it at 11 a piece. 

Both teams continued to play with a high level of intensity. Both liberos were covering the court well to prevent many balls from dropping. Mercer’s outside hitter Skye Ekes showcased her vertical by jumping and swinging over the FAU block for her eight kill of the match, 18-17. 

Rosado collected another kill that skimmed off the blocker’s hands, extending the Owls’ lead to two. A few plays later, she followed up with a roll shot that was sent deep to six, which gained them the second set win, 25-21. 

In set three, Mercer began with the first point. The Bears setter Brooke Phillips and Ekes continued their strong connection as Ekes put away the ball, 2-1. The back-and-forth trend stayed consistent in this set. 

Rosado didn’t press her hands into the court when closing the block, giving the Bear’s outside hitter Sophia Henry an easy opportunity to use that. She swung directly into Rosado’s hands and the ball flew away to the bleachers, 12-12. 

The defenses continued their success, the Bears had 39 digs and the Owls had 38 when the score was 15-14, in Mercer’s favor by one. Ru had an attacking error that started a 5-2 run for Mercer, the Owls called a timeout at 20-16. 

After the timeout, Mercer’s Aubri Martin served the ball out of bounds and Hensley went back to the service line, gathering an ace to bring the score within two. Mercer challenged an out ball call, but it was unsuccessful. Following that, the Owls tied the game 20-20.  

Henry made a great effort to go after a shanked pass, she was able to get there, bumping her knee into the bleacher but the libero 4 didn’t react in time, resulting in the ball dropping on the floor. 

Robine and Rosado came back with kills to send the Owls to match point, 24-23 but Hart served out of bounds. The Bears took advantage of the opportunity and an ace by Brianna Anderson gained them the set win, 27-25.

In the fourth set FAU began with a fast 5-2 lead. Depaula extended the lead with a kill that skimmed off Mercer’s Aubri Martin’s hand. The Owls continued to dominate at the net and extended their lead to 9-2.

An error by FAU’s outside hitter Romina Cornelio gave Mercer the ball back, but it wasn’t for long as Rosado gained a kill right away. Mercer’s defense appeared to be falling apart, visible frustration started to appear on the players’ faces and FAU capitalized on that. 

Ru and Robine assisted each other on the block and stuffed the ball back into Mercer’s Ekes 17-7. The Owls momentum stayed unwavering and Rosado ended the match with a backrow kill, 25-10. 

Game three: Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. against Stetson University Hatters

FAU took a 4-1 win and defeated the Stetson University Hatter’s (25-14, 21-25, 25-21, 25-23).

Stetson applied a lot of pressure on the Owls, but they learned how to use their defensive skills to their advantage and became more aggressive on offense, squeezing out the close win. The match ended with the Owls having 64 kills with an average hitting percentage of .184 and the Hatters having 39 kills with an average hitting percentage of .159. 

“I thought that they played us hard. They served us aggressive, they took us out of system, but our girls were able to stay locked in…so I’m very pleased where we’re at, and I feel ready to open conference play,” said Nelson.

Even with huge leads from Stetson, FAU came back each time and kept the score close and came out with the win for the match. Stetson challenged FAU and made them work for the match win, but those setbacks allowed them to come back even stronger the following point.

Recap 

FAU started the first set on a rough patch going 0-5. Dyer gave the Owls their first point of the set with a kill, 5-1. Stetson’s ace extended their lead to five, the Owls started taking the set back with a kill down the line from Rosado. The following point, Rosado tipped over a block to bring the score 9-6. 

Hensley pushed another ball out to Rosado, who had another kill down the line to keep them leading 11-10. Rosado has become the most versatile player on the team with her great defense and offense. Throughout the first set, Hart was all over the back row, picking up every ball she could get. Hart had a service ace in between seams one and six to keep a steady lead at 15-10. 

Hensley and Robine’s chemistry was clear towards the end of the first set after Robine got two kills in a row from the outside into deep area six,19-12. 

In a long rally between the teams, Hensley pushed the ball back to Depaula and got a back row kill in between seams one and six. After entering the front row, Depaula had a right side kill in between seams five and six to keep the lead at 22-13. 

Northam dug from the back row and Depaula stuffed Stetson on set point, ending the set at 25-14. 

The second set started with a huge block from Owls’ Ru and Depaula. After that point, FAU’s offensive strength began to shine. Hensley and Rosado connected again to set Rosado up with another kill off Stetson’s block.  

Stetson had the height advantage with their blockers but FAU made smart plays to hit off the high hands for kills. 

Anderson was playing an impressive game in the back row as the defensive specialist for the game and made a dig off of a strong outside hit and placed it perfectly into Hensley’s hands, which went straight to Rosado for a kill off of a block at 6-3.

Immediately after, Dyer had a slide into the right side for a cross court kill at 7-3. Hensley continued to move the ball around to all her hitters, keeping a strong lead against Stetson. Depaula pushed the ball into a deep one instead of swinging and had the crowd cheering, making the score 11-6.

Depaula continued to use Stetson’s blocks on the outside to keep the lead at 17-13. Stetson began to put pressure on the Owl’s defense and put them into many out of system plays and were able to make a comeback and tie up the game at 17-17 forcing FAU to call a timeout.

After Stetson starts to go on a run of points as FAU makes hitting errors, FAU is forced to call another timeout down 22-19. The Owls lost the second set after losing on set point in an out of rotation call from the referee, 25-21..

Stetson began the third set with two kills in a row and the Owls faced early pressure when the score was 3-1.Stetson’s offense started to become more comfortable and kept the Owl’s defense on their toes. 

Richardson was subbed in after FAU’s offense began to struggle and she got a huge kill to put them in a 2-point deficit. After that kill, Stetson’s offense continued to put more pressure on FAU and then aced them 7-3. With the Owl’s defense not being able to pick up any balls in the back row and their offense hitting balls out, they called a timeout being down by five. 

Stepping back in after the timeout, the Owls came out with confidence and Richardson threw down another cross court kill that went deep into five. Rosado and Depaula both stepped in and began moving around their swings all over the court to bring the game within three.

Hensley started to be more passive in the front row, setter dumping and swinging on the second ball. She had an unexpected kill after being passed the second ball straight into the donut hole of the court at 9-11. 

Cornelio tied up the game, 14-14, after a float serve ace right into five and then shanked out by Stetson. Stetson then blocked a right side swing, 17-15 and FAU then called a timeout. Coming back from FAU’s timeout, Dyer had a massive kill into one that knocked the defensive player off of her feet. To follow up that kill, Hensley set Dyer a back one ball for Dyer to put into five, bringing the score within two, 19-17. 

Robine came back onto the court ready to finish out the game and went on a four kill streak, each ball being placed in a different spot. Her first kill went straight down into six, the second and third kill she tooled the block and the fifth kill Robine swung cross court into five taking the lead back at 23-21. 

“Even if we miss a point, we bounce back straight away. Like it’s already happened. Can’t change it, but we are so good at bouncing back and then keep on pushing forward,” said Ru.

Stetson began to make small errors that ended up costing them the set. At 23-21, Stetson touched the net giving FAU the game point. To finish the set out, Stetson’s #defense began to scramble and tried to free the ball over the net, but put it out of bounds and the Owls took that win at 25-21. 

Heading into the fourth set, the Owls were set on winning and not going into a fifth. Hensley took the first point for the Owls and pushed the ball back onto Stetson’s side of the court straight down into the donut hole at 2-1. To follow up her stuff into Stetson, Ru and her had a massive block on the right side. 

The Owls kept a solid lead and managed the offensive pressure from Stetson., Rosado got a great kill off of an out of system play which was set up by Northam at 7-3. However, FAU began to fall back on their defense and communication, allowing Stetson’s offense to take over and gave them a one point lead. Stetson’s pins were hitting deep corners and seams and the Owl’s started struggling to get those balls up which led to FAU calling a timeout down by three, 11-8. 

Hart got another ace after the timeout was called when Stetson led 12-1010-12, but FAU lost the ball to Stetson afterwards. Stetson then missed a serve and the Owls took that opportunity for their own comeback. Dyer made a huge block in the middle bringing the score up to 14-15. Right after, Stetson got called out of rotation by the referee. 

Dyer got set up by Hensley to have a wide open kill into five to tie up the score at 17-17. Ru was then able to gain the lead for FAU with a huge stuff on an overpass, then a kill down the middle, and two more blocks to get the score to 23-20.

Robine was able to get another kill which put the Owls at set point, but Stetson was able to catch up at FAU 24-23. Rosado was able to finish the game out at 25-23 with a massive kill down the line. 

“They put up a really good fight, and it tested us, which was good, and it showed us where we really needed to grow,” said Dyer.

The next game will be Sept. 27 at 6pm home against East Carolina University.

Megan Bruinsma is the Sports Editor for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories email her at [email protected] or DM her on Instagram @megan_bruinsma or Twitter (X) @MeganBruinsma. 

Molly O’Flynn is a contributing writer for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories email her at [email protected] or DM her on Instagram @molly_oflynn_.