BOX SCORE
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Senior Jessica Catelano tied a school record with seven aces as the University of North Florida volleyball team downed Atlantic Sun opponent Campbell, 3-1 (25-10, 15-25, 25-18, 25-16) on Saturday afternoon at UNF Arena.
Catelano tied the record set by three previous UNF (6-21, 3-6 A-Sun) players for a four set match. In addition to her aces, Catelano notched eight kills. Paige Pridgeon led the team with a match-high 20 kills while tallying 10 digs for her 14th double-double of the season. Dagnija Medina added nine kills. Britt Claessens put up 43 assists. On the defensive side, Nicole Baran posted 13 digs.
“It was a great team effort,” said head coach Kevin Campbell. “We are playing great volleyball right now and there are some on court leaders emerging. We were fortunate to have great serving today and great team defense. We're looking forward to the next match.”
The Camels (10-16, 4-5 A-Sun) were led by Allyson Goldbach and Emily Werner tallied seven kills each. Heather Wilson had 12 assists. Kelsey Campbell had 12 digs while Caroline Hammersley notched five blocks for the defensive side.
In the opening set, the Ospreys and Camels traded point early with UNF holding a slight 10-8 advantage. The Ospreys broke open the scoring, notching the next 13 straight points behind the serving of Catelano, who tallied five of her aces during the run to put UNF on top, 23-8. The Camels would regain possession, but would score just two more points as the Ospreys rolled to the win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set had the Camels coming out strong early, jumping out to a 13-4 lead. Campbell took its largest lead of the set at 23-12, but the Ospreys looked to make a late run, scoring the next three points. The deficit proved too much as the Camels claimed the second set, tying the match, 1-1.
UNF got out early in the third set, taking a 15-8 lead again behind the serving of Catelano who tallied her other two aces during a 4-0 run. The Camels cut the lead down to five at 20-15, but the Ospreys closed out the set with a 5-3 run to take the 2-1 lead in the match.
In the final set the two teams traded runs with UNF holding a slight 14-13 lead midway through. The Ospreys went on a run to get out to a 19-13 lead fueled by back-to-back aces from Medina. UNF ended the set outscoring the Camels, 6-3 to take the set and the match.
The Ospreys will be back on the court in a pivotal Atlantic Sun Conference match hosting crosstown rival Jacksonville on Friday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. in UNF Arena. The match marks a SunTrust River City Rumble “Battle of the Barrel” contest between the two teams and will be senior night for the Ospreys.
