BOX SCORE

MACON, Ga. – The University of North Florida volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (26-28, 21-25, 23-25) decision to Atlantic Sun opponent Mercer on Saturday afternoon at the University Center in Macon, Ga.

“We are not playing well right now,” said UNF head coach Kevin Campbell. “The A-Sun portion of the schedule is a marathon, not a sprint. Hopefully we can get the right combination of players together for our next round of conference play, next weekend.”

Leading the Ospreys (7-9, 2-6 A-Sun) was freshman outside hitter Paige Pridgeon with 16 kills. Junior middle hitter Kaley Read and outside hitter Danielle Lerch posted 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Sophomore setter Julie Fye tallied 36 assists in the match.

For the Bears (4-11, 2-6 A-Sun) Krista Hurley led with 13 kills. Setters Chelsea Gebben and Nickie Halbert had 20 and 17 assists, respectively, while Amiee Frutchey led on the defensive side with 13 digs.

The first set was back and forth between the two teams with 16 ties and five lead changes. UNF fell behind late, 24-22, but tied the set up at 24, 25 and 26. Mercer closed out the set with blocks on the final two rallies for the 28-26 win and a 1-0 advantage in the match.

UNF and Mercer went back and forth in the opening rallies of the second frame before the Bears went on a run to extend the lead to four, 16-12. The Ospreys cut it down to two at 20-18, but that is as close as they would come. Mercer picked up the second set, 25-21, taking a 2-0 lead in the match.

Mercer and North Florida went back and forth in the opening of the final frame and were tied at 12 until the Bears broken opened the scoring to lead by four at 19-15. The Ospreys fought back, tying the set at 22. Mercer would regain possession and scored two to get to match point, 24-23. UNF would get one last chance, but an error by the Ospreys on the final rally gave the Bears the point needed for the set and the match.

UNF and Mercer played a close match with the Ospreys tallying 45 kills to the Bears' 41. Both teams had 39 digs. Mercer held a 12 blocks to six advantage over UNF.

The Ospreys will be back in action Tuesday, Oct. 6, at Georgia Southern for a 7 p.m. non-conference match in Hanner Fieldhouse. UNF will return home Friday, Oct. 9, and Saturday, Oct. 10, playing host to Campbell and East Tennessee State. Friday night's match against Campbell is set for 7 p.m., while Saturday's match against ETSU is at 3 p.m. in UNF Arena.