University of Dayton Athletics

TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Dayton volleyball team defeated Florida Atlantic with a reserve sweep on Sunday afternoon (22-25, 18-25, 25-18, 25-23, 15-10).

The first set began close with 11 tie scores and four lead changes. An attack error by the Owls tied the match at 21 apiece, but Florida Atlantic pulled away on a three-point run before winning set one on a block.

Set two was further in FAU's favor, taking an early 11-2 lead. Dayton went on a late four-point run with kills from Ava Liening and Kamryn Hunt and an ace for Charlotte Vinson to put the set within five at 23-18 for Florida Atlantic. The Owls tallied back-to-back aces to take a 2-0 set lead.

Dayton roared back in the third set, stringing together four-, five- and six-point runs to win it 25-18. Kaleigh Meritt led the Flyers with five kills, with Hunt recording a service ace. Gabriela Machin Borges and Liening also recorded a block assist.

With 12 tie scores, the fourth set went back and forth. Florida Atlantic tied the frame at 23-23, but kills for Hunt and Natalie Harrington earned Dayton the set to force a fifth set.

The Flyers burst out of the fifth set with a five-point run to start the set. After FAU tied the set at 10 points apiece, Dayton went on another five-point run with kills by Machin Borges, Meritt and Charlotte, taking advantage of errors by the Owls to win the match.

BY THE NUMBERS
16 – Kills for Kaleigh Meritt, her first double-digit match for the Flyers

29 – Assists for Rylee Sloss, followed by Natalie Harrington's 27

2 – Aces for Kamryn Hunt

5 – Different Dayton players with service aces

4 – Block assists for Isabel Simmons and Charlotte Vinson

3 – Total blocks for Simmons with one solo block and four block assists

34 – Tie scores in the match with 11 lead changes

UP NEXT
Dayton will end non-conference play with matches against Missouri, Bowling Green and Toledo on Sept. 18-19 in Bowling Green and Toledo, Ohio.