Boxscore (PDF)
Atlantic Sun Championships
 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – No. 4 seeded University of North Florida volleyball stunned top-seeded Florida Gulf Coast in the semifinals of the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship in order to advance to the tournament's championship match for the first time in program history. The Ospreys held on for a thrilling 3-2 victory (25-20, 25-18, 22-25, 23-25, 15-12) over the A-Sun's regular season champions.
 
The Ospreys will face third-seeded ETSU in Saturday's title match. ETSU knocked off second-seeded Lipscomb 3-1 earlier on Friday.

"We came out focused and played with great poise against a very tough and challenging Florida Gulf Coast team," said head coach Steve Loeswick. "It was an exciting match, but I'm proud with how we pulled it together in the end. Tomorrow, we go up against a strong ETSU team. It will be another tough battle, but we are ready and looking forward to it."
 
Paige Pridgeon and Carolyn Jenkins paced the Ospreys with 21 and 20 kills, respectively. It was Pridgeon's third 20-or-more kills match of the season. Meanwhile, Jenkins' 20 kills set a new career record. Dagnija Medina and Marija Pantovic also added double-digit kills for the Ospreys' offense. Medina tallied 12 kills, while Pantovic made 11.
 
Britt Claessens put up a career-high 63 assists and added 13 digs for her eighth double-double of the season.
 
Nicole Baran dug 22 balls and became the first player in UNF history to surpass 600 digs for the season. Baran entered the match with 589 digs and finished the night at 611 for the year. In addition to Baran and Claessens, Kelsey Smith (14) and Cari Whitmire (13) reached double-figures in digs.
 
Jill Hopper led Florida Gulf Coast with 16 kills, while Gigi Meyer had a 28-assist, 13-dig double-double. Whitney Masters had a team-high 15 digs.
 
A timely three-point run allowed UNF to start to pull away from Florida Gulf Coast in the first set. Tied at 12-12, a Medina kill was the first of three straight Osprey points. UNF and the Eagles battled over the next few points, but a kill from Pridgeon sparked another three-point run that allowed the Ospreys to go up 21-15. Although Florida Gulf Coast eventually pulled to within three, kills from Medina and Anna Budinska sealed the first-set win for the Ospreys.
 
After UNF held an early 10-9 lead in the second set, the Ospreys strung together multiple points while only allowing Florida Gulf Coast to get consecutive points on one occasion. UNF used its spurts to distance itself from the Eagles and led by as many as seven as the Ospreys went up 21-14 on an Eagle miscue. The closest Florida Gulf Coast could get to UNF was five points before a set-winning block by Medina and Claessens gave UNF a 2-0 advantage in the match.
 
UNF had to battle back in both the third and fourth sets. The Ospreys trailed by as much as four midway through the third set. UNF cut Florida Gulf Coast's lead down to one on two occasions, including when a Jenkins kill made it 20-19. However, the Eagles were able to fend off UNF and used a Kaitlin Holm kill to win the third set and stay alive in the match.
 
Multiple Florida Gulf Coast runs allowed the Eagles to lead UNF by as much as seven at several late junctures, including at 17-10. UNF clawed back and used a critical five-point run to make it a 20-19 match in favor of the Eagles. Florida Gulf Coast got four of the next five points in order to have UNF face set point. However, a kill from Jenkins was the first of three straight Osprey points as Florida Gulf Coast held a slim 24-23 advantage, but Hopper had the set-winning kill as Florida Gulf Coast forced a decisive fifth set.
 
An early five-point run let UNF surge out to a 7-4 lead, but the two teams traded next eight points. With UNF up by three, a kill from Hopper started a three-point Eagle run that resulted in the set getting tied up at 11-11. UNF broke the tie on a Florida Gulf Coast service error and then went up 14-11 behind kills from Budinska and Jenkins. A kill from Holm on the next point made it a two-point set, but UNF got the win and the upset on another Eagle miscue.
 
Saturday's championship match is set for 4 p.m., EST/3 p.m., CST. The match will air live on ESPN 3. Winner of the match will get an automatic berth into the 2012 NCAA Tournament.