On Oct. 20 at 1 p.m. the Florida Atlantic University Owls women’s volleyball team (12-8, 4-4 AAC) played the University of South Florida Bulls (11-8, 7-1 AAC) for their annual Pink Out game to raise awareness for breast cancer.

The first 300 people to arrive received free Pink Out t-shirts. As hoped, almost all of the stands were full of fans and students dressed in their free pink t-shirts to support the Owls against South Florida.

FAU defeated USF in four sets (25-21, 25-17, 25-27, 25-14), giving the Bulls their first conference loss of the season. The Owls are tied for seventh in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). USF holds the top slot.  

“I’m just so proud. USF is a wonderful team, right? Such a good volleyball team, and first team in the conference right now. I’m just so proud of how we played,” said head coach Fernanda Nelson.

The Owls had 119 attacks, 51 kills, a hitting percentage of .319% and 51 digs, while the Bulls had 144 attacks, 54 kills, a hitting percentage of .160% and 53 digs.

FAU’s next game will be on Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. at East Carolina University (12-6, 5-3 AAC).

Recap

USF started with the first serve. Setter Victoria Hensley set up outside/right-side hitter Katelynn Robine on the outside for the first kill of the day. To follow up that point, Hensley pushed the ball out to Robine for another kill off of the block.

After USF’s serve error, both teams put up a fight in a long rally. However, Hensley set up outside/right-side Kayla Richardson for a kill in between seams five and six to get the point (5-3). USF’s outside hitter Ally Cavanaugh put up a fight against FAU’s defensive line and got a kill straight down the line to outside/right-side Valeria Rosado, who shanked out of bounce (5-4).

The Owls’ outside hitter Olivia Hart served two consecutive aces into zone six, bringing the score up 9-6. The Bulls had multiple serve errors throughout the first set, whether it was into the net or out of bounce, giving the Owls a massive advantage. 

Middle blocker Kaila Ru and Richardson shut out USF’s outside hitter, Maria Clara Andrade, with an amazing block going straight down to maintain their substantial lead, 14-9. 

After two more service errors from USF, the Bulls called a timeout. They came back out strong, bringing the score back up to 18-15. FAU middle blocker Madison Dyer stopped their streak with a slide kill into zone one (19-15). 

“I feel like taking advantage of it. Like, I think we were playing clean and good, and then just taking advantage of their errors,” said Rosado.

USF served out again, putting FAU at set point. Rosado finished out the first set with a kill on the outside straight down the line, 25-21. 

Starting off the second set, the Owls served first, but USF had a kill off of the Owls block. The Bulls then had another service error to tie up the score. 

The Bulls continued to push the Owls out of system. However, the Owls took advantage of those plays. USF hit the ball to Hensley and defensive specialist Isabelle Northam set the ball to the outside for Rosado to get a kill, 7-4.

Both teams had two consecutive serving errors, a skill that both teams continued to struggle with throughout the game.

With USF’s outside hitters Naiya Sawtelle, Andrade and Cavanaugh, FAU’s back row was put into many difficult situations. This made their defense really put in the work. Northam had a great dig down the right sideline from Sawtelle, placing the ball right back in front of Rosado for another kill off of the block. 

Rosado and Hensley both had a phenomenal game. Hensley was able to connect with Rosado anywhere on the court, giving her perfect balls, as per usual. However, in this game, their defense showed improvement compared to the other games they’ve played this season.

Being put out of system so many times, Hensley had a great balance and a perfect platform while covering zone one. Rosado was up on the right side blocking every ball that came her way and serving two aces in the second set, moving the ball around the back row into zones one and six. 

“Coach Nelson has taken a big interest in me and she’s put a lot of work into me defensively… it’s just a lot of reps and a lot of just trusting my teammates to be behind me when I’m not there, and trusting the block to be in the right place,” said Hensley

After USF swung out again, they called a timeout at 19-11. After this timeout, the team was able to slightly bring the score back up to 24-17 after Andrade blocked Ru’s slide hit from the right side. Hensley was able to bump set Robinne for a kill of the block, ending the set at 25-17.

In set three, USF had the serve first, but Dyer hit an incredible cross-court swing into zone one, winning the first point of the game. Immediately after, FAU missed their serve, giving the Bulls the ball back. They lost it again after USF carried the ball. 

With another out-of-system play, Hensley passed the ball from deep one to Anderson, who set the ball up to Rosado for a kill down the line on the outside, 3-3. The Owls gained two more points from USF’s serving error and Ru’s block on USF’s hitter Andrade, 5-3.

USF and FAU had a combined three serving errors in a row. Both teams gave the other team free points from their self-made errors.

FAU stayed a few points ahead of USF throughout set three. Dyer had a block in the middle and then a kill-off of a block a few points later, 10-6. Hensley continued her excellent defense into the front row, as she and Ru had a great block on the outside right after.

“It was just like a good mentality… If they were to mess up, we were just like, okay, we’re not gonna let up off the gas. Like, we just wanted to keep pushing, no matter if they had attacking errors, if they had service errors, we just wanted to keep the lead as far as possible,” said Richardson.

Rosado then had a huge singular block on the right side that went straight down, 15-10, causing the crowd to stand and cheer. The Bulls put the Owls out of system again and Robinne got a cross-court kill into deep five, 18-15.

The Bulls began to creep back after FAU’s serving error, and USF had an ace to bring it within one, 18-17. Although the Owls’ offense did exceptionally well, considering the close score, the Bulls knocked FAU’s defense in long rallies. This brought the score to 23-23. USF’s offensive line stepped up with multiple kills, bringing down the Owls to a 27-25 loss for the third set. 

After a long break in between, the Owls were prepared and determined to come back and take the win in the fourth set. To begin this set, FAU had the first serve. However, USF’s outside Sawtelle had a cross-court kill, taking the first point. Dyer took the first point for the Owls, blocking an outside swing from Sawtelle.

From there, USF made two attacking errors, called a time-out then served the ball out, 5-2. The Bulls continued to make three service errors and had a hitting percentage of -.050%, which gave the Owls a great advantage and a high lead throughout the set. 

South Florida called their first challenge of the night to determine whether Florida Atlantic touched the ball on USF’s outside swing. The Owls ultimately got the point, 11-8. Rosado then had a back row kill into middle back, Lauren Lewis, in zone one, and an ace in between zones one and six, 14-9.

A few points after, USF called another challenge to determine whether there was a touch from FAU. This was again lost, leaving the score at 17-10. During the overview of the play, the up ref yellow-carded South Florida’s coach for arguing with the refs about the touch.

Hensley continues to move the ball around the court to keep a high lead. Hensley set the ball to Ru and she read the court, tipping it over the block into the donut hole, 19-12. Rosado then had two kills in a row on the right side into deep one both times. She followed with a singular block against Andrade on the right side that went straight down, 23-13.

“The whole thing about today was to play with an attitude, and we did, but I felt that we left a little bit on the third set. So I felt it on the fourth set. We’re like, all right, energy and attitude. And we were able to get it done,” Nelson said.

To take the win in the fourth set, Dyer had a massive cross-court kill down into zone one. USF also shanked out of bounce. Dyer ran up to the crowd with her teammates behind her, causing an uproar of excitement from the crowd.

Molly O’Flynn is a staff writer for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories email her at moflynn2024@fau.edu or DM her on Instagram @molly_oflynn_.