Sept. 2, 2006

Box Score  l  Idaho State Box Score

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Sept. 2, 2006) -The University of North Florida volleyball team put forth two of its most impressive performances of the season on Saturday in the 11th Annual Labor Day Classic at UNF Arena. The Lady Ospreys got a record- setting day from senior libero Tara Taylor in blasting Murray State 3-1 in their opener (30-26, 28-30, 30- 20, 30-15) and then swept past Idaho State 3-0 in the nightcap (30-26, 30-23, 30-19) to win the tournament title with a 3-0 mark.

With the wins, the Lady Ospreys improved to 4-3 overall, but more importantly showed head coach Bryan Bunn that they are finally starting to jell as a unit.

"It was a great weekend of volleyball," Bunn said. "We played three really good matches against good teams and showed how we are capable of playing. I was proud of how we came out strong and maintained our intensity. It is always fun to win."

Against Murray State, the Lady Ospreys hit .222 as a squad and tallied 115 digs, the most in a four-game match since UNF had 124 against Armstrong Atlantic State in 1999.

Tara Taylor provided a large chunk of that total, setting a school record for digs with 42 in the match. In addition, four Lady Ospreys posted double- doubles - Emily Kohler (15 kills, 14 digs), Amy Stroder (14 kills, 17 digs), Maegan Weisert (12 kills, 12 digs) and Jenna Thomas (55 assists, 22 digs).

UNF and Murray State split a pair of tight games to open the match before UNF caught fire and pulled away in games three and four. The Lady Ospreys hit .260 in game three and .300 in the finale, while Murray State hit just .000 and -.098 with 19 errors during that stretch.

Tara DeMage had 14 kills and 16 digs to lead the Racers (2-1). Magen Wood added 16 kills and four blocks for UNF.

Against Idaho State (3-5), UNF's hot hitting continued. The Lady Ospreys hit .224, inclduing .300 in game three.

Kohler hit .483 with 15 kills and 13 digs to lead the way, while Weisert had 13 kills and 14 digs. Stroder also tallied a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs.

ISU and UNF battled back and forth in game one. The Bengals led 25-24 before Kohler and Weisert took charge. Each had six kills in the frame. In games two and three, the Lady Ospreys took early leads and never relinquished them to secure their first shutout of the season.



Weisert was named the tournament's MVP, while Taylor and Kohler each were selected for the all- tournament team along with Murray State's Heather Norris and Katie Kemezys, Appalachian State's Brittany Zahn and Havens from Idaho State.

UNF will be back in action on Friday when it travels to Charlotte to play in the UNC Charlotte Comfort Suites Invitational. UNF faces East Carolina on Friday and Penn and UNC Charlotte on Saturday.