BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Alabama State University women's volleyball team opened competition at the Owls Paradise Classic on Friday, falling in the first of three games to tournament host Florida Atlantic, 3-0, inside the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
The Hornets (2-9 overall) made its presence known against its strong opponent, pulling out a surprise second-set performance and even using some of that magic in a close, third-set battle, but the Owls (5-4) showed why it is a strong contending team in the American Conference in a straight-set (25-9, 25-21, 25-19) victory to open the tournament.
Bama State used the first set to feel out its opponents, and it was clear from the jump that the Owls committed very few errors and were a fierce offensive presence on the front line.
It took those notes into the second set, winning back-to-back points early to draw within one while forcing three Owl errors across a five-point stretch to pull three back, 19-16. It managed one more point on a service error before FAU sealed its four-point victory with back-to-back kills.
ASU's success in the third set came of its own doing, especially from senior middle hitter
Kaylen Hines, who has been in a league of her own as far as attacking middle hitters go this season. The Lady Hornets built a 10-7 lead out of the gate, with three of the team's six kills in that series coming from the First Team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) player. Momentum shifted to the other side, and it would stay that way for the rest of the match, as the visitors couldn't string together any steady run of its own in the final frame.
Despite the loss, the Hornets had just six fewer digs than the Owls (53-47), led by libero
Mirra Riddle's 17 and
Kamrynn Clay's nine. Clay, the back-to-back Setter of the week in the SWAC, came away with 20 set assists, while Hines added eight kills and an ace serve, both team highs.
The Lady Hornets get two more chances to pick up a non-conference victory before SWAC play starts, as it faces Stetson tomorrow, Sept. 19, at 11 a.m. before looking for revenge against the Owls in the 2 p.m. window tomorrow to conclude the two-day tournament in Boca Raton.
