BOX SCORE
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Four players tallied double-digit kills but the University of North Florida fell just short of Atlantic Sun rival and crosstown foe Jacksonville in a five-set thriller on Tuesday night in midweek volleyball action at UNF Arena.
With sets of 23-25, 25-19, 25-14, 19-25 and 16-14 Jacksonville improves to 13-5 and 9-2 in the A-Sun, while UNF falls to 8-12 and 3-8 in the league.
Freshman outside hitter Paige Pridgeon matched her career high with 22 kills for the Ospreys. She also posted 13 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Junior outside hitter Danielle Lerch added 13 kills while senior outside hitter Agata Dawidowicz posted 11 kills and 11 digs. Junior middle blocker Kaley Read had 10 kills. Jessica Catelano, a junior setter, tallied 51 assists and a team-high 21 digs. Freshman libero Nicole Baran had 15 digs.
“I was happy with how the team played,” said UNF head coach Kevin Campbell. “I wish we would have come out in sets one and two with more energy. I think Paige and Agata played really well. The team turned it around with playing much better defense in sets three, four and five. Nicole and Chelsea put a lot more energy into defense and brought a lot more energy to the team.”
For the Dolphins, Brooke Singleton had 16 kills and 13 digs. Aidan Yeager added 13 kills and Kathryn Kane had 11 kills and 16 digs. Shelley Walroth led on the defensive side with a match-high 26 digs while Hannah Munneke posted 41 assists.
UNF and JU battled in the opening set with 10 ties. The last tie came at 22. A kill from Read along with a pair of kills by Pridgeon secured the set for the Ospreys, 25-23.
The Dolphins took an early lead in the second frame, 14-9. UNF closed the gap to two, 14-12, but JU increased the lead, going up 19-15. The Ospreys were unable to make the late set run and JU picked up the 25-19 win to knot the match at 1-1.
JU jumped out early in the third set, taking its largest lead of the match at 17-8. The Ospreys were unable to respond on the offensive side as the Dolphins won the third, 25-14, taking a 2-1 lead in the match.
North Florida took its turn, starting the fourth set strong, taking a 12-6 lead off a Dawidowicz ace. The Ospreys took their largest lead, up eight at 21-13. JU looked to make a move late, serving three straight, closing to 24-19, but a kill from Read gave UNF the point to win 25-19 and tied up the match 2-2.
JU took a 10-6 lead in the fifth set, but UNF battled back behind the serving of junior defensive specialist Chelsea Rabe to tie the match at 10. JU again took the lead, but the Ospreys knotted score at 13 off back-to-back kills by Pridgeon. UNF took its first lead of the set since the early rallies at 14 with Dawidowicz's third ace of the match. A miscue by the Ospreys on the next rally tied the score for the eighth time in the set. Yeager knocked down a pair of kills to secure the set (16-14) and the match for the Dolphins.
UNF will be back in action Friday, Oct. 16, and Saturday, Oct. 17, when the team hits the road for a pair of A-Sun matches. On Friday, the Ospreys will face Florida Gulf Coast at 7 p.m. Saturday's contest against Stetson is set for 5 p.m.
