Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The 2008 season didn't start exactly the way the University of North Florida women's volleyball team wanted it to in a difficult 3-0 (13-25, 10-25, 17-25) loss to Northern Iowa on Friday at the FAU Invitational.

 

Junior Agata Dawidowicz led UNF in her debut match with six kills along with sophomore Kaley Read, who also had six. Read also notched team-highs of nine digs and two blocks.

"I saw a lot of nerves and hesitation today," head coach Kevin Campbell said. "It was frustrating to see that. The skills weren't bad, but we were just in a fog that kept us from competing. In the third set, we were able to snap out of it and start playing better. Hopefully tomorrow, we can come together and execute enough to score the points."

 

UNF (0-1) had trouble hitting its spots, hitting just .065 – a mark that just wouldn't cut it compared to UNI's .434 clip. The Lady Ospreys took the first lead in the first two sets, but the Panthers were able to put large runs together that UNF wasn't able to bounce back from.

 

The Lady Ospreys took the lead in the first point of the first set on a kill by sophomore Marshay Greenlee, but it was the last time UNF held the advantage. UNI used an 11-3 barrage to effectively take an insurmountable lead and win the set 25-13. Greenlee, freshman Shawna Metcalf and Dawidowicz led UNF with two kills in the set. The Lady Ospreys were hampered by a .000 hitting percentage.

 

UNF was able to find its spots better in the second set with a .182 mark, but a powerful .652 hitting percentage by the Panthers helped UNI cruise to a 25-10 win. Two Panthers had four kills in the set and were led by Shannon Aschoff's five terminations. Greenlee, senior Bary Rasmussen and Dawidowicz each rounded up two kills.

 

After an attack error by Dawidowicz in the final set, she leaped right back and slammed down a kill on a set from sophomore Madie Belvin. Despite the positive comeback, UNI put together another stifling run and outscored the Lady Ospreys 9-4 to help it claim a 25-17 third set victory.

 

UNF committed 19 errors compared to UNI's nine. Belvin led the Lady Ospreys with 16 assists, while Greenlee finished with five kills.

"Agata is a bright spot in our offense, and Marshay started off strong on the right side," Campbell said. "There are a couple of injuries right now that are holding us back, so I'm interested to see how we'll do with those out of the way."

 

The Lady Ospreys will try to even the score on Saturday when they clash with Florida Atlantic and Bethune-Cookman in a doubleheader. The action begins at Noon against FAU and concludes at 5 p.m. against BCU. Live stats will be available on UNFOspreys.com.