On Oct. 19, Florida Atlantic volleyball (14-7, 5-3 AAC) fell to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte 49ers (15-15, 6-2 AAC) 3-1 in a tough matchup.

FAU had a hitting percentage of .227% which is .119% lower than their previous game against Temple University; Charlotte’s total hitting percentage was .270%. Erin Morrissey led the Owls with 18 kills, while Charlotte’s leading hitter was outside hitter Kristen Birmingham. 

“We didn’t stop fighting, our kids, they competed the entire game,” said head coach Fernanda Nelson. “Credit to Charlotte, they had a very good game today. They worked well with a very good offense, so it was tough to beat them today.”

Recap:

The Owls started off the first set of the game on a rough patch. The first few points were full of service and attack errors from both sides of the court. Setter Emsley Venard set up outside hitter Olivia Hart for a kill into zone five, 3-5. Venard took advantage of her backrow hitters throughout the entire game to put offensive pressure on Charlotte.

The 49ers’ middle blocker, Selanny Puente, blocked middle blocker Libby Ashline and outside hitter Jaylen Jordan followed up with a kill into zone six, which was shanked out by defensive specialist Zoe Winford, forcing FAU to call a timeout, 6-10.

Coming right out of the timeout, rightside Kayla Richardson made a kill down the line, 7-10. Charlotte went for a three-point run, forcing FAU to call another timeout at 12-15. The Owls continued pushing against Charlotte’s aggressive offense, but struggled to grab the lead.

Hart took a great swing into zone six, which was passed up again for an overpass kill from Ashline, 15-18. The Owls were able to catch up to the 49ers with Morrissey making another kill off of Charlotte’s blocks, 19-22.

The 49ers originally won a point against the Owls with no touch, but coach Nelson called a challenge on the play and won. Charlotte called a timeout on their set point, then Jordan made an attack error, which tied the game 24-24.

Hart followed up with another attack error and then swung into Charlotte’s block, ending the first set at 24-26.

Going into set two, the Owls started off much stronger than the first set and took a four-point lead against the 49ers. Setter Victoria Hensley pushed the ball twice to Hart, one for a kill down the line and one through the blocks of setter Lauren Nixon and middle blocker Sofia Lacadia, 5-1.

Birmingham, Charlotte’s strongest hitter, put the most pressure on the Owls’ defense and moved the ball around and through blocks with two more kills, 5-3. The Owls kept a good lead on the 49ers and started to utilize middle blocker Maggie Allred’s blocking skills and strong swings.

Allred and Hart block Puente in the middle and beat her in a joust in the middle, 12-8. Charlotte called a timeout after Hart got a kill and was shanked out by Jordan in the back row. The 49ers were able to come back after this timeout causing FAU to call the next timeout.

After another few points of Charlotte’s offense putting on more pressure and taking the lead, the Owls called their second timeout of the set. Venard pushed a few more balls out to Hart and outside hitter Anna Hartman, forcing Charlotte to call the fourth timeout of the second set.

Charlotte finished out the second set with a one-handed set from Nixon to Jordan for a kill, 23-25.

The 49ers took the lead going into the third set with Birmingham’s kill deep into zone five, 3-2. The Owls tied the score back up with Hart’s kill on the outside off of Charlotte’s touch, 7-7. They were able to take the lead back after Hensley’s one handed dump over the net, 12-11.

Ashline took advantage of overpasses from Charlotte and made another kill into the donut, 15-14. The score continued to stay close throughout the set, with points back and forth. The Owls stabilized their lead for the rest of the set with Hart’s kill cross-court into zone five, forcing the 49ers to call a timeout.

The Owls pushed through the rest of the set with Ashline ending the set with a deep kill into zone one, 25-20.

After coming off a win from the third set, the 49ers quickly bounced back in the fourth set and took the lead. Jordan, Birmingham, and Puente make kills back to back, 2-7. With a kill from outside hitter Jessica Ricks, the Owls are forced to call a timeout, 3-9.

“I think Charlotte played better than we did, especially offensively and even defensively…They finished on a 270 and we finished up on a 20,” said Nelson. 

Richardson made a strong kill into seams one and six from the right side, causing the crowd to stand up and cheer. Charlotte called a timeout, Richardson tips over their block, 8-12. The 49ers took a huge lead against the Owls with their aggressive front row attackers making strong, good well-placed kills. 

After being down eight points, Morrissey used good judgement on Charlotte’s defense and rolled the ball deep into zone one for a kill and followed up with another roll into seams five and six, 17-22.

“Erin has a lot of experience; she knows how to move the ball around, and she stays calm. She’s a fifth-year senior, so this is exactly what we expect from her and she’s such a great teammate,” said Nelson.

Allred and Richardson made a huge double block on outside hitter Amaya Roberson, forcing Charlotte to call a timeout. Coming out of this break, middle blocker Sofia Locadia closed the game against the Owls with a kill into zone five and a block on Hart’s outside swing, 21-25.

The Owls will fly to Elma Roane Fieldhouse on Friday, Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. to face the Memphis Tigers.

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.