Final Boxscore
Game Book

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- The University of North Florida volleyball team dropped a tough fought 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 14-25, 28-30) decision Saturday afternoon at ETSU.

With the loss, the Ospreys (8-12, 2-4 Atlantic Sun) conclude a challenging three-match road swing.

Paige Pridgeon tallied a team best 15 kills in the match and became just the ninth player in UNF program history to surpass the 1,000 kill mark. The junior outside hitter entered the match needing just three kills and posted the historic finisher during the first set.

Nicole Baran paced the UNF defense with 19 digs followed by 14 from Anna Budinska, who also led the team with three service aces. Dagnija Medina finished with eight kills and two blocks for the Ospreys while freshman setter Casey Giovanazzi collected  32 assists and had five kills in six attempts (.833 hitting).

Megan Devine led the ETSU attack with a match-best 22 kills.

"We definitely played much better volleyball today," said UNF head coach Kevin Campbell. "Overall the team played strong and with more confidence. We continue to battle in matches and the players are executing the game plan. We just need to stay focused and keep improving. We are looking forward to playing at home in five of our next six matches."

After an early lead for the Bucs, set one turned into a real back-and-forth contest that ETSU eventually edged out with a 25-23 victory. The Ospreys quickly evened the match tally using a pair of scoring spurts midway through set two to earn the 25-16 win.

ETSU grabbed a 10-1 lead in set three and never looked back handing the Ospreys a disappointing 25-14 loss. However, set four was simply a battle with both squads holding leads.

North Florida built a four-point lead, 21-17, late in the frame and actually served for the set with the score 24-21. The Bucs fought off six chances by the Ospreys to finish the set before tallying back-to-back points for the 30-28 match deciding score.

UNF returns home for a pair of key ASun matches next weekend facing Belmont (Oct. 14) and Lipscomb (Oct. 15).