VOLLEYBALL
If FAU thought they could end the season by pulling off a huge upset over the FIU Golden Panthers, then their dreams were crushed.
On senior night, the Lady Owls fell to rival Florida International University in straight sets and ended their season with a record of 6-20 (4-13), while the Golden Panthers improved their record to 28-2 (17-0). A week after losing to Western Kentucky because they could not seal the game, déjà vu happened all over again on Saturday, Nov. 14, at the FAU Arena against the Golden Panthers.
The Lady Owls started off sluggish in set one as the Golden Panthers jumped out to a 4-0 lead that extended to 8-4. FIU also seemed to find soft spots in FAU’s defense early on.
The Lady Owls showed some resiliency as they came back to tie the set up at 21 points a piece, forcing FIU to call a timeout. The momentum had clearly shifted to FAU’s favor, and new life was given to the Lady Owls.
Both teams went back and forth, exchanging point for point, when a service ace by junior Kathryn Williams gave the Lady Owls the first lead of the set at 28-27. FIU scored on the next play, though, and FAU failed to capitalize its chance. FIU would take the first set 30-28.
“After coming back from that big deficit and taking the lead in the first set just to lose was heartbreaking and very difficult to swallow,” said senior Krystena Castro
Set two saw the Golden Panthers dominate. FAU started off slowly, and FIU would not let up. The only tie of the stanza was 8-8, and the Golden Panthers took control from there, quickly expanding their lead to 21-14. They then quickly disposed of the Lady Owls by going on a 4-0 run thanks to a kill, a block and a pair of service aces. FIU won the set 25-14.
In the third set, FAU had a lead at 4-3, but they would not maintain the lead, and the Golden Panthers won the set 25-22, sweeping the Lady Owls in the process.
“Volleyball is a game of mistakes, and even though both teams made mistakes, our mistakes were costly,” said Castro. “We had a very young team this year, and we couldn’t capitalize when we had the chances, and couldn’t perform when the pressure was on.”
No Lady Owl managed to get double-figure kills in this game, as freshman Georgia Robinson led the team with nine kills and Castro followed up with seven. Castro also led the team in blocks with four on the night, and junior Joanne Marras Tate followed with two. The Lady Owls were held to a hitting percentage of .198, and as a team recorded 31 kills, 20 less than FIU.
“I was very proud of our young squad tonight,” said Head Coach Jody Brown. “The biggest difference was experience, but we have a great foundation to build on for the future, and we are very excited about our athleticism and desire for this team to grow.”
