Final Stats
ORLANDO, Fla. - The University of North Florida women's volleyball team went into hostile territory on Thursday and put together its most complete match of the season but came up short to UCF by scores of 30-26, 30-12, 18-30, 30-26, in the UCF Invitational.
UNF (0-7) was led by junior Kavie Sturch, who had a season-high 11 kills. Senior Amy Stroder and freshman Kaley Read chipped in with nine kills each. Read and junior Claire Yonutas each had four blocks. The Lady Ospreys hit .137 for the match and recorded a season-high nine blocks. UNF held early leads in both the first and fourth games but weren't able to continue consistent pressure for the victory.
"Even though we were pushing hard, there were times where we let multiple points rack up," said head coach Kevin Campbell. "We were always with UCF, but once we got down four or five points, we couldn't make up the deficit. I'm really proud of our team because we've been working on playing together and playing under pressure. I feel like they came through and executed on everything we've been working on."
The Lady Ospreys owned the momentum early, getting off to a 15-11 lead in the first game before UCF called a timeout. With the score tied at six, UNF went on a 9-5 run highlighted by two kills from Stroder. But the Lady Ospreys had trouble finding the gaps in the UCF defense and were blocked on four points down the stretch, allowing the Knights to turn the tide. UNF held a 22-17 lead before UCF went on to outscore the Lady Ospreys 13-4 to seal the win.
UCF grasped control of the second game and never let go, forcing six errors by the Lady Ospreys. UNF hit .000 for the game and recorded just six kills. The Knights put themselves comfortably ahead with runs of 6-1 and 10-2. The Lady Ospreys had trouble defending UCF's serves, allowing four aces.
The third game started much like the first, only this time with a different result. UNF grabbed an early 15-9 lead before UCF took the game's first timeout. After the stoppage, UNF took a 25-15 lead that was sparked by two kills from Sturch. After a service error by freshman Madeline Belvin gave the possession back to UCF, the Knights went on to cut UNF's lead to 27-18. But a block by Yonutas and Read began a three-point swing by UNF to close out the win.
UNF dug down deep in the fourth game and pressured the Knights against the wall. The teams struck back-and-forth in the early going until the Lady Ospreys took the wheel and scored four straight points to take a 14-10 lead. UNF went up by as many as five, but the Knights back with a strong offensive attack to tie it at 18. The Lady Ospreys weren't able to find a consistent answer, and UCF went on a 7-3 run to take a 25-21 lead. It looked as if the match was a done deal, but UNF charged back to cut the UCF lead to 27-26 on the back on kills by Sturch and freshman Chelsea Rabe. However, the rally ran out, and UCF was able to score the final three points to wrap up the 3-1 win.
The Lady Ospreys will move back into action tomorrow at the UCF Invitational with two matches, starting at 1 p.m. against Central Michigan, then at 4 p.m. against Florida Atlantic.
