NEW ORLEANS -- The University of New Orleans rallied from two games down to force a decisive fifth game before falling to Florida Atlantic 3-2 (31-29, 30-24, 22-30, 25-30, 15-9) to open up conference play at home.
The Owls (4-7, 1-0 Sun Belt) were led by Krystena Castro who had 18 kills including four in the pivotal fifth game, while Katie Arvidson totaled 11 in the match. Casey LaRocca paced the Owls offense with 40 assists while Kendall Utz led four FAU players in double-digit kills totaling 16.
Lindsey Loyd had 22 kills to lead UNO (6-8, 0-1 Sun Belt) while Lindsey Boler added 16. Cassidy Asebroek led the Privateers offense with 25 assists while Jaci Bayley contributed 20. Four Privateers had double-digit kills with Nicky Valenti having 30 digs to continue her defensive hot streak.
Despite outhitting the Owls .163 to .159 in game one, the Privateers found themselves on the wrong side of a 21-14 score before rallying to tie the game at 27-27 as Loyd had nine kills in the first frame. The Owls would push the lead to two at 29-27 before two points in a row by the Privateers knotted the match at 29 apiece. FAU would close out the game following two Privateer errors.
In the second game, the Owls jumped out to a 20-12 lead before the Privateers rallied with a 10-1 run to take their first lead at 22-21. FAU would finish with a run of their own, closing out the game with a 9-3 run.
Trailing 2-0, the Privateers turned the tide in the third game, going on a 8-0 run that opened up a 14-12 game into a 22-12 advantage as the Privateers would coast to a 30-22 win.
Defensively, the Privateers stepped up their game holding the Owls to a .073 attacking clip in the fourth game, taking a 30-25 win.
The Privateers will continue play at home with a match against Florida International on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Golden Panthers played at Louisiana - Monroe on Friday night.
