Florida Atlantic’s road trip continued in North Carolina as they faced Charlotte (4-19, 1-9 AAC) in hopes of gaining a road victory. The Queen City did not wear the crown today as the Owls earned a commanding victory over the 49ers.
FAU gained a three-point advantage early in the first, leading 11-8, but the 49ers came back to even the first set at 13. At the media timeout the Owls held a 15-14 lead. Charlotte shortly gained an advantage out of the break as FAU called a timeout down two: 20-18. The 49ers extended the lead by four, winning the set 25-21.
Similar to the first set, Florida Atlantic earned an 11-7 lead thanks to a Madison Dyer (bottom picture, Angelina LaBelle) kill as Charlotte called a timeout. The advantage stretched to seven thanks to a Valeria Rosado (pictured below, Angelina LaBelle) kill as the Owls jumped ahead by seven: 18-11. The set ended in dominant fashion as FAU held their lead, winning the set 25-18.
Set three was even early as the teams worked their way to a 8-8 tie.A four-point run capped off by a Kayla Richardson (top picture, Angelina LaBelle) kill led to an Owls lead at 12-8. At the first timeout FAU led 16-13. Florida Atlantic went on a 10-2 in the set to gain the victory 25-17 in the third set.
Heading into the fourth set 2-1, the Owls commanded the fourth as they jumped ahead thanks to a six-point run: 6-0. FAU continued their push for victory as they took a commanding 11-3 lead before a 49ers timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Charlotte went on a 6-1 run to bring the set within three: 12-9 Florida Atlantic. The Owls extended their lead to six once again as they reached the 20 point mark: 20-14 Owls. FAU held off Charlotte to win the fourth set 25-19. Florida Atlantic won the match 3-1.
For the first time this season the Owls won a match on the road. Before today FAU was 0-6 on the road. It was a match full of kills as Rosado earned a season high of 22. The Owls earned a total of 65. Florida Atlantic ended the match with a .336 hitting percentage. Victoria Hensley continued her insane season as she earned 53 assists on the evening. Isabelle Northam led FAU in digs with her total of 19 as the Owls had 65 total.