BOCA RATON, Fla. ? The University of South Alabama volleyball team battled back from a 2-0 match deficit, but saw its rally attempt come up just short as Florida Atlantic picked up a 3-2 (13-25, 16-25, 26-24, 25-18, 17-19) victory Saturday night at FAU Arena.
The Jags (6-4, 0-2 SBC) will now return home to begin a three-match homestand on Thursday, when they host Arkansas State at 7 p.m. at Jag Gym.
Florida Atlantic improves to 9-4 on the season and 2-0 in league play with the win.
Hristina Markova and Lindsay Schwartz led the Jaguar offensive attack with 16 kills each, while Juliana Pallamin de Almeida also finished in double figures with 14 kills. Almeida also added 10 digs to give her her first double-double of the season.
FAU also placed three player finish the match with double figure kill tallies, led by Krystena Castro’s 14. Morgan Johns added 13 and Kristyna Dzmuranova chipped in with 12.
SET ONE: Florida Atlantic 25, South Alabama 13
Florida Atlantic took control of the first set when the Lady Owls broke a 4-4 tie with a 10-2 spurt. During the FAU run, South Alabama didn’t help its cause, committing four of its six attack errors in the set. Morgan Johns later put Florida Atlantic up by double digits with an ace. Anne Vaughan also paced FAU in the opening set, carding four kills. The Owls went on to take a 1-0 match lead with the 25-13 set one win. Florida Atlantic’s offense came out on fire in the opening set, out hitting the Jags .323 to .054.
SET TWO: Florida Atlantic 25, South Alabama 16
In set number two, Florida Atlantic led from the outset, pushing across the first four points. USA was able to battle back and eventually cut the deficit to 10-9 after back-to-back kills from Schwartz, but the Owls didn’t let South Alabama get any closer. The Jags were able to hang around for much of the rest of the set, until with the Owls holding a two-point lead (18-16), Florida Atlantic was able to close the set with seven unanswered points to take a 25-16 victory.
SET THREE: South Alabama 26, Florida Atlantic 24
Set number three played out like the previous set early on with the Owls leading from the start, only to see the Jags keep chipping away. Markova was the offensive leader for South Alabama, recording six of her 16 kills in the set. After the Jags had cut the deficit to one on four occasions late, Florida Atlantic set one point away from taking the match at 24-21. This time, however, it was the Jags turn to close the set with a string of unanswered points. Led by the duo of Schwartz and Markova, USA rallied back and reeled off the final five points to cut the match deficit to 2-1 with a 26-24 set three win. The Jag duo, combined to score all five of South Alabama’s points. Schwartz sealed the victory when the freshman middle blocker slammed home her ninth kill of the match. After recording just 17 kills through the first two sets, USA notched a blistering 19 in the third set.
SET FOUR: South Alabama 25, Florida Atlantic 18
Riding the momentum of the come-from-behind third set victory, South Alabama came out on fire in the fourth set, jumping out to an 8-1 lead. Markova ignited the run with a kill and capped it off when the sophomore dropped an ace just inside the back left corner line. FAU answered right back with a run of its own, this one 6-1 spurt to cut USA’s lead to 9-7. With South Alabama still holding a two-point at 17-15, Almeida and Brittany Blackwelder combined for four points to put USA back out by six (21-15). Almeida started things of with a pair of kills and Blackwelder finished it off with two straight aces. The Jags kept things going and Schwartz pushed the match to a fifth and final set with her 14th kill of the match to give USA a 25-18 fourth set victory
SET FIVE: Florida Atlantic 19, South Alabama 17
The fifth set was a tight affair throughout with neither club either to gain more than a three point advantage on the other and forcing 10 ties. After forcing the fifth set to extra points, Florida Atlantic was able take the final two points and pick up the match victory with a 19-17 win. Arvidson and Johns combined for a block assist to seal the victory for FAU. The front line defense was key for the Owls all match long as they recorded three solo blocks and 24 block assists.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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