The Florida Atlantic Owls (15-12, 7-8 AAC) fell to the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers (11-15, 6-9 AAC), 3-1 (25-23, 24-26, 24-26, 16-25) on Nov. 15. The game was labeled “Veterans Appreciation Night” and in the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena. It marked the Owls second to last game of the regular season.
The Owls came out blazing in the first set, going on two 5-0 scoring runs. However, in the fourth set their self-made errors caught up to them. There was clear mental frustration from the players as they fought their way back in the third. UAB pounded away offensively in the fourth.
UAB hit .275% and finished with 12 blocks, while the Owls were .182% in hitting and had eight blocks. The Blazers dominated with 69 digs compared to FAU’s 50. FAU’s leading hitter of the night was outside Katelynn Robine, who finished with 16 kills.
Head coach Fernanda Nelson declined an interview after the match.
Florida Atlantic will finish their season at home on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Tulane University Green Wave (14-13, 6-9 AAC).
Recap
UAB started with the serve from Meg Jarrett. The teams rallied back and forth, but the play ended when middle blocker Madison Dyer hit out of bounds. The Owls first score came off a cross-court kill from outside hitter Katelynn Robine, 2-1.
Robine got her second kill of the game. There was another long rally between the teams, but outside hitter Abby Jones used the block to skim off the Owls’ hands and go out of bounds, 4-2. Middle blocker, Kaila Ru, got her first touch of the game, and she quickly gathered a kill at the 10-foot line.
Libero Isabelle Northam served out of the back left corner to deep five and attained an ace, giving FAU the first lead of the game, 7-6. From this point, the game continued to go back and forth by one-point. Both teams were on their offensive game and utilized the tool off the block.
The Owls began to pull away, led by three kills in a row from Robine as they went on a 5-0 scoring run. The Blazers ended the run with Jones tipping just over the block, 16-12. But, they didn’t maintain the serve, as Ru quickly hit out of the middle and stumped UAB’s defense.
UAB called their second timeout of the game after Robine aced the Blazers serve receive defense and extended their lead to 20-15. Out of the break, UAB instantly came back with a kill from right side Jorda Crook out of middle back. Then, Northam overpassed, and setter Kelsey Smith was there to tip it right back.
They began to crawl back and Dyer ended it by faking a hard hit. Dyer, instead, tipped within the 10-foot line, 23-19. FAU called their first timeout of the game after middle blocker Madison Page made her first kill, bringing UAB within two.
UAB challenged a play, saying that Robine touched the ball as it went out of bounds. It was ultimately unsuccessful and set point for the Owls. They were unable to capitalize as Robine hit the ball out of bounds. She quickly made up for the error, killing off the block on the next play, 25-23.
Beginning set two, outside hitter Isabella Rosado started with the serve. However, the Blazers dug it perfectly, and set it to Crook, who got a kill down the line from the right side, 1-0. After a tremendous effort by both teams’ defense, Jones ended a long rally by tipping over the hands of outside hitter Romina Cornelio, 4-2.
The Blazers had back-to-back errors, allowing the Owls to come back and tie the game, 4-4. Similar to the first set, the game started to go back-and-forth, neither team able to pull away farther than two points.
Middle back Chloe Rodriguez entered the serving line and had a floater ace, extending UAB’s lead to three. Their 5-0 scoring run ended by a service error from Rodriguez. The Owls were called on a net touch. They challenged the play, but it was unsuccessful.UAB led 13-8.
Dyer ended the run. Setter Victoria Hensley ran a slide and found Dyer behind her, who killed off the block, 13-9. UAB instantly got it back from a block by Crook and Madison Page, marking the teams seventh block of the night.
Outside hitter Mia Reese attacked at the net but she was stuffed off a block from Ru, 17-13. After an exchange of points, Ru came out of the middle and flicked her wrist to get a kill inside the 10-foot-line. Cornelio followed up with a kill of her own and UAB called a timeout, 18-16.
The Owls 3-0 scoring run was ended by an error from Reese, but UAB exchanged it with a service error, 19-18. Dyer and Hensley teamed up on the block and stuffed UAB to tie the game.
Rosado saved a hard hit from UAB, but she over-passed it and Crook threw it back at them. Hensley went back to the service line and she aced it, rolling just over the tape, 23-23. The Blazers called their second timeout of the set with the tied score of 24-24.
Out of the break, the teams had an intense rally, neither wanting to let up. But Crook came up out of the back row and killed down the five seam. Then, Reese followed up with a kill of her own, winning the set 26-24.
In set three, the Blazers continued their same momentum with two blocks and a kill from outside, 3-0. UAB continued to chug away at the lead, FAU’s only four points coming from Blazers’ errors, 8-4.
The Blazers turned on the heat, hitting .600 when they averaged .245 in the previous two sets. FAU’s Cornelio earned the Owls first gained point by Cornelio killing from the back row, 12-5.
Hensley connected with Dyer on a quick one-tempo set, and she killed it down the five seam, 18-12. FAU continued to struggle with gaining momentum as the Blazers remained strong at the net and stuff blocked Robine, extending their lead to seven. Robine came back and used the block to her advantage, flying the ball out of bounds 21-15.
Robine’s kill sparked a change in the Owls, as Ru followed with two fast-tempo kills from middle and two blocks, 23-20. The crowd erupted as Ru attained another stuff block, bringing FAU within two for the first time in the set.
Hensly pushed the set behind her to Cornelio and she found the seam between five and six for a kill, 23-22. The Blazers struck back with a kill from Jones, but Richardson hit right back down the line from outside. UAB’s Crook had a hitting error and tied the game 24-24.
After a tough hit from outside, Northam barely dug it, but she was able to get it up. However, Richardson attempted the hit at a difficult angle and made the net, allowing UAB to take the second set, 26-24.
Set four began with a service error from Rosado, and UAB once again stuck with their momentum from two kills and an ace by Crook, 4-2. FAU’s Hensley lept up at the net and setter dumped. But on the next play there was some miscommunication, as two Owls ran into each other, 8-6.
Robine was sent back to the line and served out, marking the Owls ninth of the game. Since the first set, their hitting and serving errors have drastically increased, making it difficult for them to keep up with the Blazers strong offense.
The Blazers’ Jarrett found Jones at the outside, who snapped it down the line, 13-8. FAU began to only gain their points off UAB errors and couldn’t create momentum off their own hits. On the other side, UAB continued to dominate at the net, hitting .529, compared to FAU’s .235.
Ru had a tough hit off a slide, but setter Kelsey Smith was right there to dig it. Then, Robine had a hitting error, ending the play, 21-13. On UAB set point, Ru hit down to five, but on the next play Jones got a kill off the block and ended the match, 25-16.
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.
