Thursday, December 01, 2005

Florida Atlantic University's record breaking season came to an end on Thursday with a loss to the University of Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Owls fell to the No. 8 seed Florida Gators 3-0 at the O'Connell Center.

Kelly Paiva closed out her collegiate career with a match-high 14 kills and FAU finished the season with a 29-3 record and an Atlantic Sun Championship Title. The Owls took the first point of the match on a Katie Arvidson and Casey LaRocca block.

FAU extended the early lead to 7-5 before the Gators went on a four-point run behind a kill and service ace from Jane Collymore. FAU stayed close in the game before a 7-1 run by UF closed out the game at 30-19. Florida hit .361 in the game and held FAU to a .098 hitting percentage. Kelly Paiva collected seven of her kills in the game.

"I felt that our system was really down," said head coach Jody Brown. "I was pleased with our passing but I felt that our attacking was down quite a bit." Janelle Sarauw tallied FAU's first four points in game two and Florida Atlantic tied the contest at four before a six-point UF run sparked a 15-3 spurt for the 22-7 Florida lead.

The Owls could not recover and committed 13 attacking errors to give UF the 30-15 win for the 2-0 advantage. The Gators (31-2) finished the contest winning game three 30-14 by not committing an error and finished the match with a .430 hitting percentage. With 10 digs and 14 kills, Paiva totaled 24 double-doubles for the season.

"Kelly Paiva always plays well. For the most part she didn't serve as tough as she typically does," said Brown. "Her attacking is always very good. She is a very high points getter for us. I think in the long run if you can get the ball to her in a zone where she can attack, she is going to be successful no matter who you play. She is good at going off the block and around the block."

Jane Collymore recorded 14 kills to lead UF and libero Rachel Engel finished with 16 digs in the winning effort.

The NCAA Tournament appearance was the third for Florida Atlantic University in the program's 13 seasons at the Division I level. It is the first trip since 1999 for the Owls.

Release courtesy of Florida Atlantic Athletic Communications