BOX SCORE

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sophomore outside hitter Paige Pridgeon knocked down 24 kills to lead the University of North Florida volleyball team past Troy, 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 25-18, 20-25, 16-14) on Friday night during the first day of the 2010 Best Western Invitational hosted by UNF.

In addition to her kill total, Pridgeon tallied 13 digs for the Ospreys (2-6). Sophomore middle blocker Dagnija Medina added 14 kills and senior outside hitter Jessica Catelano had 13 kills and 10 digs. Freshman setter Britt Claessens notched 54 assists. On the defensive side sophomore libero Nicole Baran had 18 digs and Medina posted seven blocks. The Ospreys had 12 total team blocks in the match.

“We're coming together as a team,” said head coach Kevin Campbell. “I can't single out an individual because it was an overall great team performance. We have great energy and are having fun together. We're looking forward to tomorrow's matches.”

For the Trojans (4-6), Kayla Giles had 18 kills, Devin VonPingel added and Natasha Kolunija tallied 11. Megan Henderson notched 53 assists and led the team defensively with 21 digs.  

The Ospreys took an early, 7-3 lead in the first set. UNF held on to the lead and was up 17-13 before Troy responded with a 6-0 run to take a 19-17 lead. North Florida answered and tied the set at 22. Back-to-back kills from Pridgeon followed by a kill from sophomore Allison Shirley secured the set for UNF, giving the Ospreys a 1-0 match lead.

UNF and Troy traded points to open the second set as both teams were tied at 12 before the Trojans opened up the scoring, taking an 18-13 lead. The Ospreys responded and tied the set at 22, but Troy was able to close out the set to tie the match, 1-1.

After jumping out early in the third set, the Ospreys took their largest lead at 16-9. The Trojans cut the lead down to three (19-16), but UNF closed out the set with a 6-2 run, taking a 2-1 lead in the match.

In the fourth set, the Trojans were up 14-10, but UNF responded, cutting the lead to one at 18-17. Troy answered with a 6-0 run to go up 24-17. The Ospreys got the ball back and scored the next three, but a kill from Troy gave the Trojans the point needed to knot the match at two sets each.

Troy took the quick lead in the fifth set, going up 4-1. The Trojans held on to the lead until UNF took an 8-7 lead off back-to-back kills from Pridgeon. UNF and Troy traded points and were tied at 12, 13 and 14. Medina notched a pair of kills on consecutive rallies to secure the set and match for the Ospreys.

The Ospreys will be back on the court on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 11 a.m. against Charleston Southern. UNF will face Illinois Chicago at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Action will get started at 9 a.m. at the Best Western Invitational with Troy and Chattanooga.