BOX SCORE
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – North Florida picked up a win in the first set, but Liberty rallied to defeat the Ospreys 3-1 on Saturday afternoon in volleyball action at the 20th Annual Holiday Inn Jefferson Cup, hosted by the University of Virginia at Memorial Gym in Charlottesville, Va.
“As a team we were overall much more competitive,” said head coach Kevin Campbell. “We played together and really understood how each other work. I feel that we are making progress.”
Leading the Ospreys (0-6) was sophomore outside hitter Paige Pridgeon with 17 kills. Sophomore middle blocker Dagnija Medina added seven kills while freshman setter Britt Claessens tallied 28 assists. On the defensive side, sophomore libero Nicole Baran had 14 digs.
“I thought that Britt played her best match yet as a freshman setter,” Campbell said. “She ran a very smart offense and made good choices which resulted in a lot of points. Dagnija was super competitive and really came up with some very strong serving and consistent blocking throughout the match as well as kills in critical moments and when called upon. Paige is always a player that we depend on, but in this match did a better job handling game pressures. I thought Nicole played her most consistent match of the season, both in her serve receive passing and her defense.”
Pridgeon was named to the All-Tournament team after recording 32 kills (3.2 kps), 24 digs and a pair of aces over three matches.
The Flames (5-2) were led by Karyl Bacon and Loren Thomas with 20 and 11 kills, respectively. Jade Craycraft recorded 36 assists and Kelly Haseman had 19 digs.
UNF and Liberty traded points to open the first set and were tied at 11 before the Flames went on a run to take a five point, 18-13 lead. LU maintained the lead, taking its largest lead of the set at 21-15, but the Ospreys responded with a 10-3 run, powered by four kills from Pridgeon, to take a 25-24 lead. The Flames scored on the next serve to tie the match at 25, but back-to-back kills from senior Jessica Catelano gave UNF the points needed for the 27-25 win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
In the second set, Liberty jumped out early, taking a 10-5 lead. UNF cut the gap down to three at 12-9, but the Flames scored the next four points to take a 16-9 advantage. The Ospreys were unable to respond on the offensive side as LU claimed the second set 25-14, tying the match 1-1.
The Ospreys opened the third set with a 5-0 run, but the Flames rallied to tie the set at 11. Liberty took a 15-11 lead. UNF closed the gap to two, 16-14, but Liberty again extended the lead to five at 20-15. UNF would pull to within four (23-19) late in the match, but the Flames held on to win 25-19 and take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
Liberty came out strong in the fourth set, taking a 16-6 lead. The Ospreys looked to make a run late as they cut the lead down to six at 19-13, but the Flames held off the surge to claim the 25-16 set win for the match.
UNF will return to action on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 10-11 when the Ospreys host the Best Western Invitational. The Ospreys will take the court at 11 a.m. on Friday to face Chattanooga. UNF will also play Troy on Friday in a 7 p.m. match. All matches will be played in UNF Arena on the North Florida campus.
