Final Boxscore
Game Book
Postmatch Interview (Paige Pridgeon)

JACKSONVILLE -- Powered by a balanced offensive attack featuring four players with double-digit kills, the North Florida volleyball team earned a 3-1 (17-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-23) victory Saturday afternoon at UNF Arena.

With the win, UNF improves to 8-9 overall and 2-2 in Atlantic Sun play. The victory also snapped a four-match losing skid for the Ospreys against Mercer, who falls to 5-13 and 0-4 in the conference.
 
Paige Pridgeon finished with 20 kills in leading the quartet of Ospreys with 10-plus kills followed by 13 from Carolyn Jenkins and 11 for Anna Budinska. Dagnija Medina added 10 kills but also led the team with three blocks and hit a match-high .409 after committing just one hitting error.
 
Nicole Baran led the defense with 15 digs while Budinska and Pridgeon each tallied 14 in posting double-double performances. Freshman setter Casey Giovanazzi also collected a double-double finishing with 44 assists and 10 digs. Kelsey Smith sparked the team from the service line recording three of the squad's four aces on the day.
 
“We are playing well as a team and continue to improve every week and each match,” said UNF head coach Kevin Campbell. “We executed the adjustments we made after Friday's match and it paid off for us. Our defense was stronger, we served with more focus and played with much more confidence. It was a good win for us.”
 
Mercer grabbed the early lead and momentum building an 11-4 advantage on the strength of an 8-1 run. The Bears, who hit .375 in the first set, extended their lead to double digits at 18-8. Competition settled into a sideout battle from there as Mercer earned the 25-17 victory.
 
The Ospreys turned the table on the Bears in set two breaking open tight competition with a 7-2 spurt midway through play. Mercer got no closer than five as UNF evened the match at one with a 25-18 win. Pridgeon notched seven kills in the frame as North Florida hit a match-best .387 as a team.
 
UNF raced out of the break scoring the first six points of set three. The Ospreys maintained a lead for much of the remainder of the stanza but Mercer slowly chipped away at the deficit eventually tying the score at 23-23. However, a service error for the Bears followed by a kill by Jenkins put the set in the win column for North Florida.
 
The fourth set was an evenly played contest with neither team leading by more than two up to an 11-11 tie. The Ospreys scored the next four points grabbing a slight edge they would never relinquish. The Bears pulled within a point twice including at 24-23 before Medina sealed the vicotry for UNF with a decisive kill on match point.
 
After a brief home stand this weekend, UNF returns to the road for its next three matches beginning Wednesday at Georgia Southern. The road swing also includes matches against ASun foes USC Upstate (Oct. 7) and ETSU (Oct. 8).