BOX SCORE

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In a back and forth battle between the University of North Florida volleyball team and Atlantic Sun foe Belmont, the Bruins were able to outlast the Ospreys, 3-2 on Friday night at UNF Arena.

With scores of 25-18, 22-25, 26-24, 24-26, 16-14 Belmont improves to 13-13 overall and 9-7 in league play while the Ospreys fall to 10-15 and 4-11 in the A-Sun.

Leading UNF was freshman outside hitter Paige Pridgeon with 19 kills. Pridgeon also added 13 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. Senior outside hitter Agata Dawidowicz added 15 kills. Junior setter Jessica Catelano had 42 assists and 13 digs while freshman libero Nicole Baran tallied 19 digs on the defense.

“I think this is the best we've played all season,” said head coach Kevin Campbell. “We played very confident and had consistent emotion and play throughout the match. Belmont played some great defense. I was very impressed with Paige. I think Agata stepped up and played some good volleyball. Kaley stepped in and had good emotion and pushed the team. Dagnija has come back strong and has been putting up good numbers since her injury. Overall our team has made a turn to play great volleyball and I hope we can keep it up through the end of the season.”

For the Bruins, Maggie Johnson led with 18 kills. Kayla Albritton and 11 kills and Jenny Gray added 10. Channing Salava posted 49 assists while Megan Clements had 31 digs.

In the opening set, the Ospreys went on an early run to take an 8-5 lead, but Belmont responded, taking 11-9 advantage. UNF kept the set close over the next couple of rallies, but the Bruins broke open the scoring to go up 16-12. The Ospreys were unable to put together a run as Belmont picked up the 25-18 win and a 1-0 set lead in the match.

North Florida opened up the second set strong, jumping out to an 11-5 lead behind the serving of Pridgeon and junior middle blocker Kaley Read. The Ospreys held on to the advantage, leading 22-16 late in the set. Belmont would not back down and surged late, cutting into the lead as Gray served six straight (23-21). A kill from Pridgeon gave the possession back to the Ospreys, but the Bruins would get another chance at 23-22. Kills from Pridgeon and junior outside hitter Nallelis Sanfeliz gave UNF the final points to take the set, 25-22. The two teams entered the break knotted at one set each.

The two teams battled over the opening rallies of the third set and were tied at 12. A kill from Dawidowicz followed by back-to-back kills by Read put the Ospreys up 16-12. UNF maintained the lead over the next several rallies and took a 23-17 advantage. Belmont regained possession on the next rally and responded with a 7-0 run to take a one point 24-23 lead. The Ospreys tied up the score at 24 off a Pridgeon kill, but a kill by Johnson and a miscue from the Ospreys gave the Bruins the 26-24 win and 2-1 lead in the match.

UNF took an early lead in the fourth set, going up 9-4, but the Bruins made a run, cutting the score to one at 15-14. The two teams were tied at 17, but the Ospreys responded with a 5-0 run to take the 22-17 lead. Belmont again went on a late run behind the serving of Gray to tie the match at 22. The two teams tied again at 24, but a kill from freshman middle blocker Dagnija Medina followed by a kill from Pridgeon gave the 26-24 victory to the Ospreys, knotting the match at two sets each.

The Ospreys came out strong in the deciding set, taking an early 6-2 lead off back-to-back aces from Pridgeon. Belmont retaliated with a run of its own to tie the set at eight. The two teams went back and forth over the next rallies and were tied at 12, 13 and 14. UNF had a couple of missteps on the final points as Belmont secured the set 16-14 and the match.

UNF will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 31 when it faces A-Sun leading Lipscomb. Match time is set for 3 p.m. at UNF Arena.