Sept. 26, 2005

A packed schedule awaits Florida Atlantic University's volleyball team this weekend. With a trip to New York, the Owls will face St. Peter's College on Thursday before traveling to the Courtyard by Marriott LIU Classic to play four additional matches in two days.

The St. Peter's College Peahens enter the week with a 6-7 record after winning their last three matches. The team is led by Gulhan Cakcak with 3.15 kills per game and a .244 hitting percentage. Defensively, Alma Qose has 111 digs (2.47 digs per game).

After the Thursday afternoon match in Jersey City, NJ, the squad heads to Brooklyn, NY for the LIU Classic. It will be the first time FAU has ever faced any of the teams in the two-day even. Iona, Long Island, Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Northern Colorado make up the round-robin tournament.

Iona holds a 3-10 record and has dropped their last four matches. The team has not won a game in the last three matches falling to Binghamton, Yale and Delaware. The Gaels' offense is led by Miki Hogg with a .254 hitting percentage. She is the lone player with a hitting percentage over .200 as the team holds a .144 hitting percentage. The senior middle blocker also leads the team with 48 blocks (1.04 blocks per game).

FAU will face tournament host Long Island (6-10) on Friday at 7 pm. Despite their losing record, the Blackbirds lead their opponents in nearly every statistical category except blocking, where the team averages 1.5 blocks per game compared to 3.0 by their opponents. After getting off to a slow start, the squad is 6-4 in its last 10 matches.

After having their own tournament cancelled last weekend due to the weather, the Islanders will face FAU on Saturday at 11 am. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi carries a team hitting percentage of .186. Anna Machado carries the load offensively with 109 kills (3.76 kills per game). The Islanders make up for fewer blocks than their opponents by averaging 16 digs per game. Carol Marcengo leads the way with 120 digs.

The final match of the tournament for the Owls will be against Northern Colorado. The Bears hold a 4-8 record but have been successful on their home floor where they hold the NCAA Division I's longest home-court winning streak with 31 matches. The team had two top-15 teams on its schedule in the first three weeks of play and has since gone 3-2, with wins in its last two matches. UNC holds a .148 team hitting percentage and does not have a player hitting over .200. Amanda Wiggins has recorded 155 kills to lead the team, while Corrinne Chapin runs the offense with 11.57 assists per game.

FAU enters the week with a 13-0 record and has had only five matches go past three games. The Owls average 15.8 kills per game compared to 12.7 by their opponents. FAU's blocking and defense is part of that discrepancy. FAU averages 14.6 digs per game and 2.3 blocks per game to keep opponents off the scoreboard.