Boxscore (PDF)
 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Despite rallying after being down two sets, fourth-seeded University of North Florida volleyball fell to third-seeded ETSU 3-2 (23-25, 24-26, 25-18, 25-22, 15-12) in the Atlantic Sun Championship Finals on Saturday at Lipscomb's Allen Arena.
 
Paige Pridgeon recorded an 18-kill, 15-dig double-double to help pace UNF. Carolyn Jenkins added 17 kills and hit .371 for the match, while Anna Budinska and Dagnija Medina recorded 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Britt Claessens put up 52 assists. Nicole Baran led the back line with 18 digs and Kelsey Smith and Cari Whitmire dug 12 and 10 balls, respectively.
 
Megan Devine led ETSU with a 15-kill, 20-dig double-double, while Meredith Hardy had a 13-kill, 11-block double-double. Jamie Rutledge made 53 assists.
 
Blocks played a big role throughout the match with the two teams combining for 28.5 total team blocks. ETSU, who is the Atlantic Sun's top blocking team, notched 15.5 total team blocks. Meanwhile, UNF tied its season-high for blocks with 13.0 with six players each registering at least one block.
 
In the first set, UNF came back from trailing by three to take a slim 20-19 lead. A pair of kills by Jenkins bookend a four-point run that lifted the Ospreys to their one-point advantage. It was a battled for the set's final points as ETSU re-took the lead with a three-point run of its own to go up 22-20 and then won the set on a Bethany Gesell kill.
 
Several runs by both teams defined the start of the second set before it became another fight for the set's final points.  Once ETSU tied it up at 17-17, six more ties took place, including when UNF faced set point and deadlocked it at 24-24 all on a Pridgeon kill. However, the Bucs capitalized on a service error and then had a set-winning block by Hardy and Devine to go up 2-0 in the match.
 
Coming out of the break, UNF was on fire and started the third set with a 7-0 run. The Ospreys pushed their lead to 10 when Baran served up an ace to make it 12-2. UNF, who hit .355 in the third set, continued to build on its momentum, while fending off an attempted late comeback by ETSU. A kill from Budinska sealed the win and allowed UNF to stay alive.
 
The Ospreys also got off to a strong start in the fourth set and held an early seven-point, 12-5 lead on a Marija Pantovic kill. However, ETSU chipped away at UNF's advantage and came to within one on a block from Hardy and Ivey Rice as the Ospreys held a 21-20 lead. UNF got the next two points in order to regain a three-point cushion, but the Bucs used a Gesell kill and a Hardy-Rutledge block to come back within one. A kill by Budinska put UNF at set-point and then Pantovic served up an ace as the Ospreys took the fourth set to force a decisive fifth set.
 
However, UNF got out to a slow start and ETSU jumped out to an early 6-0 lead behind four blocks and two kills. The Bucs ultimately pushed their lead to seven, before UNF responded with a five-point run. A kill from Pridgeon capped off the Ospreys' run as UNF made it 9-7 in favor of ETSU. UNF attempted to fight back and faced match-point three times before Khadijah Wiley had the match-winning kill.

Following the match, the Atlantic Sun All-Tournament Team was announced with Baran, Jenkins and Pridgeon all earning spots on the team.
 
For the Ospreys, the 2012 campaign was perhaps their best season thus far in UNF's Division I era. Under first-year head coach Steve Loeswick, UNF finished with its most overall wins (22) and conference victories (11) since transitioning to Division I in 2005. The Ospreys put together its two longest winning-streaks of the Division I years this season, collecting seven-straight wins earlier this season and then eight-consecutive wins heading into today's championship match. UNF also earned its highest seed in the Atlantic Sun Championships and played in its first-ever A-Sun Finals.
 
The Ospreys graduate five outstanding seniors in Nicole Baran, Carolyn Jenkins, Dagnija Medina, Marija Pantovic and Paige Pridgeon.