FAU Box Score
BCU Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – There was no lack of intensity on Saturday at the FAU Invitational for the University of North Florida women's volleyball team.

 

UNF (1-2) played a total of nine sets over a span of two matches against in-state rivals Florida Atlantic and Bethune-Cookman. The Lady Ospreys ended the day with a thrilling 3-2 (20-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-16, 15-8) win over BCU after a gut-wrenching 3-1 loss (25-22, 22-25, 18-25, 18-25) to FAU.

 

“I think the team can see we can play with every team we saw this weekend,” head coach Kevin Campbell said. “We picked up our intensity from yesterday. The difference between a win and a loss is keeping the fire consistent. It's also about mental focus, and when that becomes distracted, that's when the play becomes inconsistent.”

 

Both senior Bary Rasmussen and sophomore Kaley Read had a total of 26 kills for both matches, while junior Agata Dawidowicz had 23 kills and finished with a total of 11 service aces. Her six against FAU were the fourth-most in UNF history for a four-set match, while her five against BCU were tied for the third-most in UNF history for a five-set match. Read was named to the FAU Invitational All-Tournament Team after averaging 2.67 kills per set and leading the Lady Ospreys with 31 digs.

 

After falling behind 2-1 to BCU (0-3), the Lady Ospreys pulled it all together in the fourth set. UNF trailed 11-10 but swatted back to take a 17-15 lead before using a 7-0 run to pull away and knot the match. Read helped seal the victory with three kills during the run.

 

UNF proved to be too much pressure for the Wildcats in the fifth set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. BCU came back to cut the lead to 5-4, however the Lady Ospreys reclaimed the driver's seat and went up 12-7 before scoring the final three points unanswered to cap the match.

 

Rasmussen led the Lady Ospreys with 12 kills and two blocks against FAU despite a less than 100 percent hitting shoulder. Read put up a team-high nine digs to go along with 11 kills, while Belvin and freshman Julie Fye combined for 45 assists.

 

UNF was able to jump out to a quick advantage early over FAU by putting up a solid .333 hitting percentage in the first set, led by Read's five kills. The Lady Ospreys were able to hold the sideout on six of the first seven points in the match and jumped out to a 6-1 lead.

 

Three of the points were scored with sophomore Danielle Lerch serving, which included two aces. The Owls bounced back to cut the UNF lead to 9-8 and later pulled to within 18-16 after falling behind by five points, but the Lady Ospreys held on to outscore FAU 7-6 down the final stretch and take the first set.

 

Despite the mounting momentum, UNF could not keep the wheels rolling. The Lady Ospreys were able to keep it tight the rest of the way but were plagued by a .173 hitting percentage for the rest of the match.

 

Belvin averaged 6.44 assists per set for the day, while Rasmussen totaled seven blocks. UNF extended its series advantage against the Wildcats to 7-0.

 

The Lady Ospreys will return to action at 6 p.m. on Friday against Florida State to kick off the Seminole Tri-Tournament. Live stats will be available on UNFOspreys.com.