Sept. 29, 2005

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The University of North Florida volleyball team wasn't able to finish what it started on Thursday night.

The Lady Ospreys won the first game with relative ease against cross-town rival Jacksonville in their Atlantic Sun Conference matchup, but they wilted down the stretch against the Dolphins in losing 3-1 (30-26, 30-32, 22-30, 20-30) at JU's Swisher Gymnasium.

The match was the first between the squads as conference foes and snapped a two-match losing streak by the Dolphins (6-10, 2-0 A-Sun) against UNF (8-7, 1-1 A-Sun) and ended the Lady Ospreys' five-match winning streak.

Five UNF players finished with double figures in kills, led by Amy Stroder's 15, but it wasn't enough to overcome a strong offensive performance by the Dolphins, who hit .226 for the match and over .300 in each of the last two games. UNF hit just .187.

"We need to maintain intensity throughout the match," UNF head coach Bryan Bunn said. "They are an experienced team, and we were a little bit depleted. They played well tonight."

UNF played short-handed, with only eight players seeing the floor. Starting outside hitter Jennifer King didn't play due to illness, while freshman outside hitter Crystie Collora didn't dress.

The Lady Ospreys came out firing in the opening game, hitting .415 with 21 kills - including a pair of monster finishes by Emily Kohler for the final two points - to post a 30-26 win. They committed just four errors en route to the win, but couldn't keep that going.

Jacksonville took over in game two, jumping out to a sizable lead only to watch UNF battle back and move ahead 30-29. The Dolphins collected the final two points, however, and coasted to the finish from there. UNF never led in games three or four.

UNF committed 26 errors to aid in its demise, and the Lady Ospreys had no answer for Jacksonville's middle defense. The Dolphins had 12 blocks, compared to UNF's five.

Magen Wood finished with 11 kills for UNF, while Kelly Kazmierczak, Allison O'Neill and Emily Kohler had 10 each. Five UNF players had double figures in digs as well, led by Jenna Thomas' 19. Eva Stoilova had 17 kills and 16 digs for JU.

The road doesn't get any easier for UNF. The Lady Ospreys travel to Boca Raton next Wednesday to face defending A-Sun champion Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton. Match time is set for 5 p.m.