WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The University of North Florida volleyball team went toe-to-toe with a much taller Georgetown squad battling through a hard fought 3-0 (23-25, 18-25, 19-25) loss Friday afternoon in tournament action at the Deacon Invitational.

Junior Paige Pridgeon paced the Osprey (1-3) offense with 12 kills while freshman setter Casey Giovanazzi handed out 25 assists. Defensively, Anna Budinska finished with a team best 10 digs and Carolyn Jenkins led the frontline with four blocks. Redshirt freshman Cameron McGuire tallied three kills and two blocks in her collegiate debut.

“We played great volleyball,” said UNF head coach Kevin Campbell. “We were strong and focused and executed the game plan effectively. We battled in each set but are still learning and developing as a team how to finish off a set in the closing moments. I love the fact that our preseason schedule is challenging us against quality volleyball programs. Every match we are getting better and eventually the results will come.”

Set one was a back-and-forth battle featuring 12 ties and neither team holding larger than a three-point advantage. Both squads took turns with the lead and traded points from a 19-19 tie until the Hoyas scored back-to-back points for the slim 25-23 victory.

Georgetown scored the first four points of the second set and eventually pushed their lead to eight points (20-12). The Ospreys refused to quit and trimmed the deficit to 23-17 before the Hoyas earned the deciding points for the 2-0 set lead.

UNF grabbed the early lead in set three scoring four of the first five points. The Ospreys maintained a slight edge until Georgetown evened the score at 11-11. From there the two squads traded points though the next several rotations. With the score knotted at 17, the Hoyas notched three straight points for a slim lead and then held off a surge by North Florida to close out the match.

Dani White led Georgetown with 11 kills while Ashley Malone posted a 29 assist, 19 dig double-double performance.

North Florida continues tournament play Saturday at the Deacon Invitational against Charleston Southern at 4:30 p.m. UNF concludes the weekend Sunday at 2 p.m. versus tournament host Wake Forest.