Oct. 11, 2006

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The University of North Florida volleyball team rallied to force a decisive fifth game against Big East foe South Florida on Wednesday night at UNF Arena, but the Lady Ospreys couldn't muster enough magic in the final frame in dropping a 3-2 decision.

Emily Kohler tallied 17 kills for UNF (10-13), while Maegan Weisert and Amy Stroder each recorded double-doubles for the Lady Ospreys (10- 13), but those performances weren't enough.

The Bulls (8-10) roared out to a 5-1 lead in the fifth game, and led 8-1 a short time later, before UNF finally caught fire. The Lady Ospreys cut their deficit to 12-9 and 13-10 before USF put the match away on back-to-back plays with a kill from Kristina Fabris and a match-clinching block from Marcela Gurgel and Nakia Williams.

USF tallied 30 block assists in the match, including 10 from Williams, who also had seven kills. Gurgel did most of the damage, however, collecting 24 kills with 11 digs.

UNF won the opening game 36-34 on the heels of six kills from Kohler and five from Stroder. The Lady Ospreys hit .229 in the frame - which featured 10 ties down the stretch before UNF was finally able to secure the win on a Williams error.

After that, USF took control in games two and three - hitting .400 in the second game - to take a 2-1 lead with 30-19 and 30-24 wins. In the third game, however, UNF heated up again and took control early. The Lady Ospreys hit .293 and got five kills each from Weisert and Allison Wolfe to take a commanding 21-11 lead. USF battled back within five points on two occasions but could never get closer as UNF posted a 30-25 victory.

That set the stage for game five.

Weisert finished with 12 kills and 11 digs for UNF, while Stroder had 10 kills and 13 digs. Jenna Thomas paced the UNF attack with 54 assists, and she also tallied 19 digs. For the match, UNF hit just .138, while USF hit .228.

The Lady Ospreys will return to action on Saturday afternoon when they play host to cross- town rival Jacksonville University in the SunTrust River City Rumble. Match time is set for 3 p.m. at UNF Arena. The match will also count in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings.