BOX SCORE
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida volleyball team fell to Atlantic Sun opponent Florida Gulf Coast in a hard-fought 3-2 (25-22, 25-19, 32-34, 24-26, 12-15) match on Saturday afternoon in UNF Arena.
Junior outside hitter Kaley Read tallied 23 kills, giving her 893 for her career and pulling her into UNF's top-10 all-time hitters list. Read also posted 15 digs for a double-double on the day. Danielle Lerch, a junior outside hitter, also tallied 23 kills. Freshman outside hitter Paige Pridgeon added 22 kills and 12 digs while junior setter Jessica Catelano had 68 assists and 12 digs. Freshman libero Nicole Baran led the defensive charge with a career-high 24 digs for the Ospreys (6-7, 2-4 A-Sun).
"I think we actually played the best we've played all season,” said UNF head coach Kevin Campbell. “Everyone on the court contributed in a positive way. In the end we just didn't come up with the final push needed. It was a battle from start to finish for five sets. It was a fun match to play. Hopefully, we can learn from our experiences today and use that to improve.”
For the Eagles (7-7, 6-2 A-Sun) Jacqueline Cowden and Jelena Simic each had 20 kills. Simic also posted 17 digs. Chandra Lefever tallied 54 assists and 17 digs.
UNF and FGCU battled in the opening set and were tied at 11 before the Ospreys broke open the scoring behind the serving of Chelsea Rabe to pull ahead by two. The Eagles would pull within one at 17-16, but would get no closer as North Florida took the first set, 25-22.
The opening of the second set was back and forth between the two teams as they were tied at 14. UNF again broke open the scoring behind Read's six-serve run as the Ospreys took their largest lead of the match at 19-14. The Eagles would close the gap to three at 20-17, but that is as close as FGCU would get. UNF won set two, 25-19.
FGCU came out strong in the third stanza, taking a quick 9-5 lead, but the Ospreys battled back and tied up the set at 16 off a kill by Read. UNF took its first lead since the opening point of the set at 17-16. The teams went back and forth over the next several rallies with 16 ties as the game went nine points past the 25 mark. With the final tie at 32, the Eagles were able to pick up the two points needed to secure the set, 34-32 and cut into the Osprey match lead 2-1.
North Florida took a 14-9 lead in the fourth set, but FGCU fought back and tied up the set at 18. The Ospreys held them off, but the Eagles again tied up the set at 23. Read knocked down a kill to give UNF set and match point, but the Eagles would not back down and again kept the set alive, tying at 24. A miscue by the Ospreys and a service ace from Lefever gave the Eagles the 26-24 win and tied up the match at two sets each.
Florida Gulf Coast jumped out in the fifth set, with a three point lead at 10-7. UNF cut the lead down to one at 11-10, but were unable to get any closer as the Eagles secured the match with a 15-12 win.
The Ospreys will be back on the court on Tuesday, Sept. 29 when they host Florida A&M in an out-of-conference match. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at UNF Arena.
