Florida Atlantic volleyball (19-11, 11-6 The American) earned a huge win on Thursday, topping the previous AAC East leader South Florida (17-11, 11-6 The American) in four sets to tie the Bulls in the race forThe American East championship.
Valeria Rosado and Arianna Beckham led the Owls in the win. Rosado posted her team-leading 10th double-double of the season with a team-leading 16 kills and 10 digs. Beckham also posted a double-double, tallying a team second-best 11 kills and adding a career-best 10 blocks, and narrowly missed a triple-double with eight digs. Victoria Hensley led the Owls in assists, dishing out a team-high 30 assists and tallying the Owls' third double-double with a team-high 11 digs, marking her seventh double-double of the season.
After battling through a 2-2 tie, the Owl produced an 8-1 run to take a 10-3 lead early in the first. The Owls maintained the advantage through a 19-12 lead before the Bulls attempted to rally, cutting the Owls' lead to three, 19-16, following a 4-0 USF run, however, the Owls responded with 4-0 run of their own before securing the final two points of the set off a Bulls' attack error and a kill from Rosado to capture the opening lead, 25-20.
The Owls and the Bulls traded runs to open set two, eventually leading to a 7-4 USF lead. The Owls got two back off kills from Rosado and Madison Dyer to cut the deficit to 7-6, however the Owls struggled to battle back in the second as the Bulls wouldn't relinquish the set lead and eventually even the match up at one, 25-20.
Florida Atlantic took an early 6-3 lead to open the third, but the Bulls battled back, scoring four unanswered to take their first lead of the set at 7-6. The set remained even through a 12-12 tie, before the Owls went on a 9-4 run to retake the lead at 21-16. The two squads traded points before the Owls eventually captured the 25-20 win and retook the 2-1 match advantage.
USF took the early lead in the fourth, opening the set on a 6-2 run. The Bulls extended their lead to six, 15-9, after an 11-7 run. The Bulls maintained a four-point lead, holding a 20-16 advantage late in the fourth. But the Owls locked in, battling back on a 5-1 run to bring things even at 21-21 following a Bulls' attacking error. Katelynn Robine and Dyer combined for the block to give the Owls their first lead of the set since the set-opening point. The Owls and the Bulls battled back and forth through a 25-25 stalemate, but Rosado connected on her 16th kill of the match and then Dyer and Beckham combined for the block to tally the final two points of the match as the Owls secured the 3-1 win after the 27-25 victory.