BOX SCORE

ATLANTA, Ga. – The University of North Florida volleyball team took a 1-0 lead, but Georgia State won the next three sets, securing the match, 3-1 (25-21, 11-25, 19-25, 23-25) on the second day of the Georgia State Invitational at the Sports Arena in Atlanta, Ga.

Leading the Ospreys (0-2) was sophomore Paige Pridgeon with 11 kills and 13 digs for her second double-double in as many matches. Sophomore Marija Pantovic and senior Jessica Catelano had eight kills each and sophomores Dagnija Medina and Allison Shirley added six. Shirley also had 17 digs in the match. Freshman Britt Claessens posted a match-high 35 assists while sophomore Nicole Baran notched a match-best 28 digs.

For the Panthers (2-0) Ashley Jones and Vineece Verdun had seven kills each. Jamiee Freeman and Muki Kangwa added six kills apiece as Chelsea Perry had 20 assists. Audrey Cantrell led the team with 16 digs.

“I feel that we got better today,” said head coach Kevin Campbell. “In this match I felt that we were a steadier team, we executed our serving plan well and were able to neutralize their middle hitter Vineece Verdun. We had more kills and out-dug Georgia State, but couldn't put all the pieces together to finish the match. Overall our team played hard and I am excited for us to continue to get better.”

In the opening set, the Ospreys took an early lead, going up 10-5 fueled by a pair of kills from Catelano. The Panthers closed the gap to one at 11-10, but UNF responded with another run to take a 15-10 lead. UNF took its largest lead of the set at 18-12, but GSU again rallied to pull within one for the last time at 20-19. The Ospreys maintained their lead, taking a 24-20 advantage. Georgia State had another chance to make a run, but a kill from Pantovic secured the set for the Ospreys, giving them a 1-0 match lead.

Georgia State came out strong in the second set and led from the beginning. The Panthers took a 10-1 advantage early behind a service run by Emily Averbeck. UNF was unable to rally as GSU evened the match at 1-1.

UNF rallied in the third set as the two teams kept the match close and were tied at 14 before GSU went on a run to take a 20-15 lead. The Ospreys closed the gap to three at 21-18, but that is as close as they would come as the Panthers too the 2-1 match lead.

The Ospreys opened the fourth set with a 5-0 run highlighted by back-to-back kills from Shirley. UNF led by as many as six (15-9) before GSU responded with a run, cutting the lead down to 15-14. Georgia State claimed the lead for the first time in the set at 19-18. The two teams traded serves over the next several rallies and GSU led 24-22, but UNF would get another chance off a kill from Pridgeon as the Ospreys closed the gap to 24-23. Georgia State's Perry notched a kill on the final serve to claim the match for the Panthers.

North Florida will wrap up the Georgia State Invitational this evening against Morehead State in a 5 p.m. match at the Sports Arena.