On Sept. 19 and 20, the Florida Atlantic women’s volleyball team (9-4) hosted the annual Owls Paradise Classic. The tournament included schools like George Washington University (7-5), Stetson University (4-8), and Bethune-Cookman University (3-8).. 

FAU went 3-0 overall to take the championship home, and outside hitter Olivia Hart was named the Most Valuable Player for the tournament. George Washington placed second after going 2-1, Stetson came in third going 1-2, and Bethune-Cookman placed fourth, 0-3. 

Game one: Sept. 19 at 12 p.m. against George Washington University

The Owls beat GWU in the first game of the tournament in a very tight match 3-2 (21-25, 25-22, 25-21, 21-25, 15,10).

FAU had a hitting percentage of .285% while GWU had .219%. Hart had 18 kills and right side hitter Anna Hartman had 16 kills to end the game. George Washington’s middle blocker, Sydney Hasenfratz, led her team with 17 kills in this match. 

“I knew this game was not going to be easy. They were physical, they have so many options offensively, they play very scrappy defense, so I was actually kind of worried about this game and very happy the way we played to win and how tough we played,” said head coach Fernanda Nelson, who noted how the team’s performance set the tone for the rest of the tournament.

Recap:

The Owls started strong in the first set with a 5-3 lead after Hartman made a strong kill down the line and followed up with a powerful kill cross court. This is Hartman’s first season at FAU as a junior after transferring from Rutgers University, where she previously played volleyball. 

“The change has been phenomenal. I’m surrounded by girls who love the sport, love each other and it’s just been a blessing to all play here with coaches that support us as a team and that we enjoy time off the court and our bond on the court is so much stronger than I could have ever hoped for,” said Hartman.

This season, the Owls are running a 6-2 rotation, a technique that uses six attackers and two setters to ensure three front-row hitters throughout the whole game and a setter in zone one. The Owls have both setters, Victoria Hensley and Emsley Venard, subbing in and out with the right sides to ensure the setter has three attack options. 

George Washington played a scrappy defense in this matchup, putting more pressure on the Owls. FAU libero Isabelle Northam played many out-of-system balls, meaning that the setter could not get to the ball or had the first touch, so Northam had to take the second ball. Northam back set the ball to Hart on the outside for a kill, keeping the lead 11-8.

Outside hitter for GWU, Alexis Rodriguez served multiple aces giving GWU a 4-0 scoring run. The Owls fell behind after this serving run and GWU utilized their strong hitters like Rodriguez and outside hitter Cayla Corgan through the entire set to play a strong offensive game and finish the match, 21-25. 

Starting set two, the Owls take the first point with a block from middle blocker Madison Dyer and Hartman on the outside swing from GWU. The set began with both teams going back and forth on each point, keeping the score very close and tensions high.

Venard, a freshman playing her first season on the team, already has strong connections with her hitters and played a versatile game by moving the ball around to her hitters as much as possible. 

“It’s been really important to get everybody involved in the offense and just keep working on that connection with everyone just because we’re trying so many different lineups, we’re changing everything around,” said Venard. 

Right side Kayla Richardson tied the score up after going back and forth for 16 points with a push down the line making the score 8-8. From here, the Owls continued to take advantage of the out-of-system balls Northam is picking up and assisting the hitters.

Hart took multiple swings on the outside for kills and broke GWU’s double block numerous times in the second set to keep the lead 23-20. Hartman finished off the second set with a kill off of Rodriguez’s block, 25-22.

The Owls brought the energy from set two into set three, gaining the first few points. Hartman took the first kill and then George Washington’s middle blocker Cianna Tejada had a service error, a fault made by the server which resulted in a loss of a point for them. GWU took advantage of the “donut hole” on the court and had Hasenfratz tip the ball into it since the Owls’ defense wasn’t covering that area, 4-6.

The score continued to stay close throughout the entire set, but the Owls kept utilizing Hartman and Hart’s powerful swings to break through blocks and put pressure on George Washington’s defense. 

Vernard pushed the ball to Hart for a kill and then set up Hartman to swing straight through GWU’s block 14-12. GWU took back the lead having both Stewart and Cogan kill cross-court and down the middle in zone six, 14-16.

Hartman made a massive block on Cogan’s hit that had the bench and the crowd cheering leading them to set point, 24-20. Vernard set Dyer up for a quick one-ball where she made a massive kill down the middle with no block defending her, 25-21.

Heading into set four, the Owls took the first three points with an ace, a GWU attack error, and a kill off a block. FAU kept the lead using GWU’s attacking errors and their front-row attackers, making George Washington call a timeout, 7-3. 

After Hart’s service error, GWU found its rhythm again and came back to tie up the game at 13-13. From there, GWU’s defense retook the lead after Hasenfratz blocked middle blocker Libby Ashline, 14-17.

With another service error from GWU this time, the Owls tied up the game again at 19-19 to make their own service error from Northam. A long rally began shortly after multiple service errors in a row, but Hart finished the rally with a strong kill into zones five and six and shanked out of bounce, 20-20.

The Owls called a timeout to regroup and sub in new players at set point; however, they lost the set with an out-of-rotation call from the refs, 21-25.

In the match’s final set, both teams were fired up to finish the game after playing the first few sets. The entire set was back and forth points from each team with multiple service errors from both sides. 

Both setters began focusing on using their middle hitters more in the fifth set and using Dyer and Ashline to challenge GWU’s defense. Dyer made a kill into zone six which was then shanked out by GWU libero Tessa de Albergaria, 7-6.

After setting up the middle, Venard back set the ball to Hartman on the right side for a kill straight into zone six, 9-8. 

GWU challenged the Owls on a play on whether there was a touch on Rodriguez’s swing; however, they did not win the challenge giving the point to the Owls, 11-8.

Hart finishes the match’s final set with a kill, 15-10.

Game two: Sept 19. at 7 p.m. against Stetson University Hatters

The Owls beat Stetson University in a sweep of 3-0 for the night’s second match (25-17, 25-15, 25-14).

With a more potent offense, FAU had a hitting percentage of .250% while Stetson had .022%. Hart led the Owls again with 10 kills, and outside Kierstan Bevelle had nine kills to end the match. GWU’s middle blocker Xinlei Yang led Stetson with five kills.

“They knew I wanted to push the serve and I told them to take care of defense. Stetson has a whole different style than George Washington. We knew we were gonna see a little bit more shots, and I felt that we were very focused to be able to make the place,” said Nelson.

Recap:

After playing a highly competitive and tense game against George Washington, the Owls had a three and a half hour break before returning to the court to play Stetson University. FAU could still bring that energy after not playing for a few hours and beat Stetson in a sweep.

The Owls immediately started the first set by applying pressure on the Hatter’s defense with their front-row attackers. Venard pushed the ball to each hitter, forcing the Hatters to scramble on defense. Hartman made the first kill of the night on the right side, which was then shanked out by Stetson’s outside hitter, Zuzanna Bury, 1-0.

Venard then uses Ashline in the middle for a strong kill into zone one, where Bury shanked out the ball again. For the following point, Venard pushed the ball out to Bevelle on the outside, where she rolled the ball into the “donut”, 4-2.

In this game, the setters focused on moving the ball around as much as possible to ensure that the Hatters’ defense constantly moved and targeted their weakest passers in the back row.  

Even though the Owls applied pressure on the Hatters, FAU struggled in this game to keep balls in play in offensive play and serves. Stetson and George Washington’s teams have very different game plans in offense and defense, which can sometimes affect how the opposing team plays against them.

“I think that in the first match, we could have executed a little bit better, but in this second game, we did a really good job of just going in there and getting it done. I think that all of our hitters were on tonight in the second game, which is a really good thing because that means that Vic and I have anybody to go to, we’re comfortable setting anybody, which we always are,” said Venard.

Stetson also made serving and hitting errors alongside FAU, with Bury swinging out down the line, 11-5. The Owls followed this with a net violation and a hitting mistake, forcing them to call a timeout at 14-13.

After this timeout, the Owls came back in with more confidence and Dyer came back to make a kill deep into zone one, 15-14. The offense began pushing harder on Stetson’s defense through the rest of the set and Bevelle ended the set with a short serve into zone 1, 25-17.

The Owls came in hot for the second set with a 3-0 scoring run and were stopped by the Hatters’ outside hitter Lilyanna Parker who rolled the ball into the “donut”, 3-1. FAU kept a good lead throughout the entire set, with Venard moving the ball around her offense as much as possible.

Bevelle made a kill cross-court straight into Stetson’s defensive specialist (D.S.) Amber Engelhart where the ball bounced off of her and went out, 13-7. The Owls’ offense was highly aggressive, but so were their blockers in the front row with Hartman and middle blocker Maggie Allred who blocked Bury on the outside, leading the Hatters to call a timeout, 14-7.

The Hatters’ outside hitter Lindsay Cox pushed the ball deep into seams one and six, where Hart shanked the ball out, 17-13. Richardson responded to that point with a cross-court kill into zone one. 

At 21-13, the Owls had a 4-0 scoring run, leading them to finish the match with Hart having two kills and a block in those four points. The set ended with a score of 25-15.

FAU gained the first two points of set three from a kill made by  Hartman and Bevelle, but immediately handed Stetson free points on two service errors, 3-2. The Owls took a strong lead against the Hatters with Richardson breaking through the team’s blocks in seams one and six after a long rally, 7-4.

Stetson took a few points gaining on the Owls with a setter dump into the “donut” and then a block against Hart by Parker on the outside, 11-9. Stetson applied more pressure on the Owls’ defense, causing them to become more scrappy in the back row.

Yang delivered a strong overpass swing at Hart, who returned it over the net, setting up Yang for another kill. Allred then broke through Stetson’s block with a shot into the deep seams of zones five and six, putting FAU ahead 16-11. Stetson called a timeout.

From there, the Owls picked up a massive lead against the Hatters and began to clean up their defense more to take advantage of their strong hitters in the front row. Richardson and Allred made a massive block on Stetson’s outside hitter Jenna Simmons, making the bench and crowd erupt in cheers, 20-12. Stetson called another timeout.

Hensley closes out the night’s final game with a set to Richardson to kill the ball straight into zone six, 25-14.

Game three: Sept. 20 at 1 p.m. against Bethune-Cookman University

FAU won against Bethune-Cookman 3-0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-14).

The Owls had their highest hitting percentage of the weekend with .347% while BCU had .099%. Hart once again led the Owls with 17 kills and Anna Hartman with 13 kills to follow. 

The Wildcats’ outside hitter, Tiyanna Preston, led her team with six kills.

“I thought that Bethune came after us on the second set. They played great defense and we could stay in it and make the plays. We always talk about staying in it and making the plays,” said Nelson. 

Recap

After going 2-0 on day one of the tournament against George Washington and Stetson, the Owls came back with even more energy than before against the Wildcats on the second and last day of the tournament.

Starting on the wrong foot in the first set, the Wildcats went on a 3-0 run with points from two kills and an attack error from Dyer, 0-3. The Owls gained their two points of the match with a service error and an attacking error from BCU, 2-3.

The Owls regained momentum with several kills from Hartman. She and Venard, both newcomers to FAU, showed the tournament’s strongest connection, as Venard’s precise back sets allowed Hartman to consistently put balls away cross-court.

Venard served an ace short into zone six, tying the score back to 7-7. The Wildcats applied a lot of offensive pressure on the Owls, forcing them into many systems plays. Hart was able to adjust significantly to these out-of-system plays and made a kill from the back row, 9-9.

Hart discussed how BCU challenged the Owls in this matchup and said, “I would say they picked up a lot of balls so we really tried to find as many open areas on the court.”

The Owls had two back-to-back attack errors, giving the Wildcats back the lead. Northam sets Hart up for a kill with another out-of-system play, breaking through BCU’s block, 16-16. The Owls kept the lead for the rest of the set.

BCU’s front-row defense gave the Owls a difficult time, but they began hitting around the blocks and used them to their advantage by tooling the hands and breaking through.

At 24-18, Hart passes to Venard who sets up Ashline for a kill into seams five and six to close the set.

In set two, FAU started the same way they did for the first set and BCU went on a 3-0 run with an ace and two attack errors from FAU. Longer rallies began with great offense and defense from both sides of the court, but Dyer ended this rally with a kill, 2-3.

The Wildcats went on a three-scoring run with two kills and a block, keeping the lead. The Owls struggled in this game as they kept serving into the net or out of bounds, giving the Wildcats extra points.

The Wildcats’ outside hitter Shayla Henry made a huge kill cross-court into zone five, staying ahead of the Owls, 7-9. Tying up the score again, Northam made another out-of-system play to Hart who made a cross-court kill, 10-10.

Northam and Hart are another connection on the court that people can’t miss. Regarding out-of-system plays, Northam was always on time and Hart is always ready to swing whatever is set to her to gain a point out of it.

“What felt strongest was my hitting. I tried to really work on my tools, so hitting off the block, especially going into conference,” said Hart.

BCU’s middle blocker, Kaleigh Williams, served an ace into zone one, causing FAU to call a timeout, 11-14. The Owls stayed behind in score after the timeout. Bevelle made an overpass to the net, allowing  Henry to push the ball deep into zone one since the Owls’ defense was covering the other side of the court, making FAU call another timeout, 13-17.

The Owls made a comeback after Hart made a kill off of BCU’s block and the Wildcats called a timeout afterwards. After the timeout, FAU and BCU went back and forth on each point, keeping both teams on their toes. 

Dyer serves out on set point, letting the Wildcats tie the score up again at 24-24; however, Richardson and Ashline end the set with a block on Preston, 26-24.

After the Wildcats took the lead in the first two sets, the Owls opened the game with the first two points on a kill and an ace, going up 2-0.

Ashline took a swing at an overpass from the Wildcats which picked back up from BCU, who attempted to make a play, but was immediately shut down by Ashline again with a block. Ashline took another overpass and pushed it back down to the 10-foot line, 5-1.

The Wildcats went on another scoring run of 5-0 to retake the lead, 5-6. In another out-of-system play, outside hitter Erin Morrissey set up Hart who rolled the ball into zone six for a kill. The Owls returned the lead with another overpass kill from Hart, 8-7.

Service errors continue again through the third set, with 11 missed in all three sets against BCU. The Wildcats struggled this game with attack errors and other violations, such as net and out of rotation.

FAU went on a 6-0 scoring run causing BCU to call a timeout. The Owls were able to stay steady and Venard set up Hartman again for another cross-court kill, keeping a nine-point lead on the Wildcats, 19-10.

BCU finished the set with a service error, giving the Owls their third tournament win, 25-14.

“I think the girls were so excited to play. We talked about not dropping the level and not judging who you’re playing, it’s about us getting better. I thought we did a great job doing that,” said Nelson.

The Owls’ next game will be Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. against in-state rival University of South Florida at The Corral.

Molly O’Flynn is the Sports Copy Desk Editor for the University Press. Email her at moflynn2024@fau.edu or contact her on Instagram @molly_oflynn_ for information regarding this or other stories.