BOX SCORE

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Three players notched double digit kills as the University of North Florida volleyball team defeated Chattanooga, 3-2 (26-24, 25-20, 17-25, 21-25, 15-10) on Friday afternoon during the second match of the 2010 Best Western Invitational, hosted by UNF.

Leading the Ospreys (1-6) was sophomore outside hitter Paige Pridgeon with 18 kills and 13 digs. Junior outside hitter Jessica Catelano added 14 kills and 15 digs while sophomore middle blocker Dagnija Medina posted12 kills and five blocks. Freshman setter Britt Claessens tallied 46 assists. On the defensive side, senior defensive specialist Chelsea Rabe had 18 digs and sophomore libero Nicole Baran notched 17.

“We played with great energy and consistency overall,” said head coach Kevin Campbell. “I'm really happy with the execution of our blocking. Our defense as a whole was really solid. I'm excited for our next match, to get an opportunity to work on our hitting efficiency which is our next challenge.”

For the Mocs (1-7) Courtney Barnes and Jennifer Kuroski had 10 kills each. Tess Kosycarz and Bailee Chastain split time at setter, posting 21 and 17 assists, respectively. Paula Passmore led on the defensive side with 15 digs.

The Ospreys got out to strong start, taking an early 10-5 lead fueled by a pair of aces and a trio of kills from Pridgeon. Chattanooga cut the lead down to three at 12-9, but UNF responded with a 5-0 run to take a 17-9 advantage. The Mocs came back to tie it at 21. The two teams were tied again at 24, but a Chattnooga error and kill from Catelano gave UNF the points to claim set one, 26-24 and take a 1-0 match lead.

UNF took control early with a seven point, 11-4 lead. The Mocs rallied to tie the set at 13, but UNF responded to reclaim the lead at 19-16. Chattanooga would only get as close as two (21-19) as the Ospreys won set two, 25-20 and took a 2-0 lead in the match.

North Florida and Chattanooga traded points to start the third set and were tied at 14. The Mocs broke open the scoring to take an 18-14 advantage. UTC closed out the set with a 7-3 run to take the set, 25-17 and cut UNF's match lead to 2-1.

The Mocs took the early lead in the fourth set, going up 13-8. UTC maintained the advantage, but the Ospreys threatened late, cutting into the lead 21-24. A kill from the Mocs on the next serve gave the set to Chattanooga, 25-21 and knotted the match at two sets each.

In the fifth frame, the Ospreys jumped out quick with a 9-5 lead. The Mocs closed the gap to one (10-9), but UNF responded to go up 13-10. Kills from Pridgeon and senior Marshay Greenlee secured the set, 15-10 and the match for the Ospreys.

UNF will be back on the court tonight at 7 p.m. when the team faces Troy in UNF Arena.