Down go the neighbors to the south tonight! Match release via SID Justin Johnson:

A career high 61 assists from Genesis Viera led the Florida Atlantic University volleyball squad to a 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 30-28, 25-21) win over FIU on Wednesday night. With the win, the Owls improve to 16-8 and 7-4 in C-USA play, while the Panthers fall to 6-18 overall and 3-8 in conference play.

In the first set, both teams exchanged points over the first moments of play. FAU took a lead as large as five points in the frame, but the Panthers rallied to within a single point at 22-21. However, two FIU attack errors and a Katarina Stepanovic kill gave the Owls a 25-22 victory.

The play on both sides of the net was disjointed for most of the second set, as neither team found a consistent rhythm. The Panthers were able to sustain enough momentum late in the set to take a 25-20 win and tie the match at one set each.

In the third set, the Owls overcame an early deficit and had to hold off a late Panther rally to post a 30-28 win to take the lead in the match. Both teams missed on two set point opportunities, but the third time was the charm for the Owls, as an FIU error ended the frame.
  
FIU wasted no time in the fourth set, quickly going ahead 12-5, forcing FAU to call a timeout. After using the break to calm their nerves, the Owls stormed back to tie the set at 16. The set would also be tied at 17, 18, 19 and 20 before FAU closed on a 5-1 run to take the match.

Stepanovic had a career high 17 kills to lead the Owls, who had four players with at least 10 in that category. Viera added 10 digs for her team best eighth double-double of the season.

The Owls will continue their homestand on Friday when they host Charlotte at 7 p.m.

Florida Atlantic volleyball won their second straight match on Friday night, sweeping visiting Charlotte by scores of 25-23, 25-18, and 25-19 respectively.

The Owls trailed set one 23-22 before cashing in on two Miner errors to take the frame. They would find themselves behind again early in the second before a 12-3 run sealed the win for a 2-0 lead.

Although FAU never trailed, Charlotte got to within a point on multiple occasions in the final set of the night, last coming at 17-16 before the Owls finished matters with an 8-3 closing effort.

In the midst of a six team battle for the final spot in the 2014 C-USA Tournament, the Miners (13-16, 2-10) saw their hopes take a hit with the loss.

FAU, who wasn't even forecast to be a part of the action by league Coaches, has now locked up a spot in the action and will look to improve their positioning with four matches remaining - all of which are winnable.

Katarina Stepanovic and Kristina Rankovic each had 11 kills to pace the Owls, who held a 25.7% to 16.5 % advantage in attack percentage.

Defensively, sophomore libero Nathalie Rosado saw a match best 12 digs for FAU.

Concluding a three game home stand, the Owls (17-8, 8-4) will host Rice at 1:00 PM on Sunday.

The Rice Owls volleyball team secured their first 20-win season since the 2009 campaign with a 3-0 sweep (25-18, 25-21, 27-25) over Florida Atlantic on Sunday afternoon at FAU Arena.

Rice was led by a match-high 13 kills from Chelsey Harris (.611, 13-of-18). Jillian Humphrey also recorded double-digit kills with 10 while hitting .412 for the match.

Brittney Brown and Katarina Stepanovic were in double figures offensively for FAU (17-9, 18-5), with 12, and 11 kills respectively.

Rice broke a 17-17 tie in set one with a 8-1 closing run for the win. The teams traded leads in set two before the Owl slowly distanced themselves for the win after a 14-14 tie. FAU stormed out to an 8-2 advantage in the third and final set, only to see Rice perform a repeat of the first stanza, pulling away after a 17-17 tie to secure the match.

Florida Atlantic was outhit 28.3% to 20.0% for the day overall.

The team next travels to Marshall for a 6:00 PM match on Friday.

Florida Atlantic University volleyball player Genesis Viera was named Conference USA Setter of the Week.

The sophomore from Toa Baja, Puerto Rico averaged 46 assists in the Owls’ three matches last week, including a career high 61 in a win over FIU on Wednesday night.

She also contributed defensively, tallying 23 digs and five total blocks in three matches.

Her efforts help the Owls clinch a spot in the upcoming C-USA tournament.

Viera is the second FAU volleyball player this season to earn conference recognition, Katarina Stepanovic was named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 6.

The Owls fell to the Thundering Herd on Friday night in the first of two weekend road contests…match release via SID Justin Johnson:

Brittney Brown was one of three Owls with double-digit kills, but the Florida Atlantic University volleyball team was unable to hold off a Marshall rally, losing to the Thundering Herd in five sets (22-25, 16-25, 26-24, 25-21, 15-8) on Friday night.
  
FAU (17-10, 8-6 C-USA) led most of the first set, but each time the Owls threatened to pull away for good, Marshall came back to tie. The score was tied at 22 when a Katarina Stepanovic kill and consecutive Thundering Herd errors gave FAU a 25-22 win.  Marshall got out to a big lead early in the second set. However, the Owls didn’t go away, and powered by Erika Brown’s serving, scored 11 straight points to take a 20-13 lead. A Kristi Tekavec kill gave FAU a two sets to none lead.

After the intermission, neither team could establish control early in the third set. The sides were level at 10 when Marshall used a 9-3 run to seize the advantage. Once again, FAU showed its resilience and fought back to tie the set at 22. The score was tied at 24 when a Marshall kill and block cut the Owls’ advantage in half.

Marshall served its way to an early lead in the fourth set and while FAU cut the deficit to as little as a point, the rally fell short and the Thundering Herd tied the match at two sets each. Riding a wave of momentum, Marshall surged out to a 10-3 lead in set number five, ultimately completing its comeback win with a 15-8 victory.

Brittany Brown led all players with 18 kills. She was joined in double figures by teammates Kristina Rankovic (13) and Kristi Tekavec (11). Genesis Viera had 55 assists and 10 digs for her ninth double-double of the year.
  
The Owls play their final road match of the regular season when they travel to Southern Miss on Sunday. Match time is 1 p.m.

FAU drops their third in a row on Sunday…match release via SID Justin Johnson:

In a rematch from earlier this season, the Florida Atlantic University volleyball team lost to Southern Miss in straight sets (25-22, 25-18, 27-25) on Sunday.
The Owls (17-11, 8-7 C-USA) swept Southern Miss when the two teams met in Boca Raton back on Oct. 17, but FAU was unable to repeat the feat in the rematch. Nicole Unger and Katarina Stepanovic helped serve the Owls out to an 8-2 lead in the first set, but USM rallied to tie the score at 10. FAU scored the next three points to retake the advantage. After another Golden Eagle run tied the score at 16, the set was back and forth the rest of the way. A Stepanovic kill tied the score at 22, but USM scored three straight points to take the set.

Set number two began as a tightly contested affair between the two sides. FAU lead 12-11 when the Golden Eagles ran off 10 of the set's next 12 points to take a 22-13 lead, eventually winning 25-18.

Sloppy play by the Golden Eagles and three Kristi Tekavec kills put FAU ahead 18-13 in the third set, but USM fought back to take a 20-19 lead. The Owls responded with a 5-2 run of their own and had two chances to extend the match to a fourth set. USM tied the score again, this time at 24. Brittany Brown put away her eighth kill of the day to give FAU a third set point, but USM answered with a 3-0 run to take the set and match.

Brown led the Owls with eight kills and six total blocks. Nathalie Rosado had a team-high 15 digs. The Owls will finish the regular season at home on Friday, Nov. 14 when they host Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m. It will be Senior Night and Ivana Bulajic and Liene Mellupe will be recognized prior to the match.

The Owl earned a sweep in their home finale…match release via SID Justin Johnson:

Florida Atlantic University’s volleyball team bid farewell to its two seniors by defeating Louisiana Tech 3-0 Friday night.

The victory moved the Owls to 18-11 on the season and 9-7 in Conference USA play. The match was not only the final home match for 2014 and seniors Ivana Bulajic and Liene Mellupe, it was the final tune-up prior to the Conference USA tournament scheduled for Nov. 21-23. Mellupe led all players with 18 kills and Bulajic added 15.

Two other Owls tallied double-digit kills. Kristi Tekavec had 17 and Brittney Brown added 16.The FAU offense was led by sophomore Genesis Viera, who had 38 assists on the night.

The Owls opened the match by building a 13-4 first set lead and continued with the pressure, outscoring La Tech 12-7 to close out set one 25-11. FAU’s offense was too much for the Bulldogs in the second set. FAU tallied 15 kills to seven for Louisiana Tech and capturing the set 25-15. Following the break, the two teams returned for the third and final set which FAU took 25-20 to complete the three-set sweep.

FAU Volleyball with be the 7th seed at the 2014 #CUSA Tournament, facing 2nd seed WKU Friday at 5:00 PM. http://t.co/OYc9IUrzOj GO OWLS!

— The Owl's Nest (@TheOwlsNest_ITB) November 17, 2014

Florida Atlantic University volleyball player Katarina Stepanovic was named First Team All-Conference USA, the league announced today.
   
The announcement was made in advance of the Conference USA volleyball tournament, which begins Friday, Nov. 21 in Hattiesburg, Miss. Stepanovic finished the regular season third in the conference with a .370 hitting percentage. She led the team in blocks per set (1.03) and was second on the team in kills per set (2.41). The junior from Serbia was named “C-USA Defensive Player of the Week” on Oct. 6. She was the first FAU volleyball player in nearly eight years to earn a weekly conference award.
 
Junior middle blocker Brittney Brown was named to the C-USA all-conference second team. Brown led the team in kills per set (2.80) during the regular season, and was second in blocks per set (0.77). She also led the team with 14 matches of 10 or more kills. Stepanovic and Brown are the first FAU volleyball players to be named all-conference since 2005.

FAU is the tournament’s No. 7 seed at and will face No. 2 Western Kentucky at 6 p.m. on Friday.

The FAU Volleyball Team battled hard, but lost to Western Kentucky 3-0 on Friday in the 2014 C-USA Tournament.

The Hilltoppers (28-5) used a 32.2% to 22.0% advantage in kills en route to 25-18, 30-28, and 25-23 set wins to secure the match.

Kristi Tekavec (15), Brittney Brown (14), and V Stepanovic (10) were each in double digits for Florida Atlantic.

“I’m very proud,” said Head Coach Fernanda Nelson following the match. “The team fought hard and the second set could have gone either way. Even though it is a tough loss and I wasn’t prepared to lose, we have had an amazing season and our future is exciting.”

The Owls finish the season at 18-12 overall, their best outing in eight years, and will return five starters in 2015.