Ospreys Undefeated on Opening Day of ASun Sand Volleyball

Friday, April 20

Jacksonville, Fla.

9 am

University of North Florida

Stetson

Photo by: ASUN Photos

4/20/2012 5:19:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

Official A-Sun Page

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –The North Florida sand volleyball team collected a pair of wins Friday, besting Stetson (4-1) and Mercer (5-0) on the opening day of play at the Atlantic Sun Conference Sand Volleyball Championship.

With the wins, UNF improved to 7-2 this season in dual matches. The Ospreys were the only team to go undefeated on the first day of competition at the JU Dolphin Beach Volleyball Complex.

In the opening match, Stetson's No. 4 pairing of DiGirolamo/Marin gave the Hatters an early 1-0 lead after posting a 2-0 (21-18, 21-16) win over UNF's Paige Pridgeon and Cameron McGuire. The Ospreys would even the match at 1-1 when the squad's No. 5 tandem of Nicole Baran and Allison Shirley outlasted the SU duo of Ream/Byl for a 24-26, 21-17, 15-8 three-set decision.

UNF claimed the match with straight set wins at the No. 2 (Emily Strack and Carolyn Jenkins) and No. 3 (Britt Claessens and Julie Trembley) spots. Strack and Jenkins won 21-19, 21-14 while Claessens/Trembley posted 21-14, 21-16 scores.

The Ospreys No. 1 pairing of Dagnija Medina and Anna Budinska closed out the scoring with a three-set thriller (21-17, 18-21, 15-11) over the Hatters' Melville/Bassett tandem, who will be playing in next weekend's AVCA Sand Volleyball National Championship event in Gulf Shores, Ala.

Against Mercer, Baran and Shirley got the team sweep started with a 2-0 (21-13, 21-16) win over the pairing of Knapper/Brett. Pridgeon/McGuire earned their first win at the event rebounding for UNF with a straight set 21-12, 21-18 decision against MU's Braxton/Petsos.

A 2-0 (21-16, 23-21) sweep by Claessens/Trembley over Mercer's Rochefort/Carlton tandem clinched the team point for the Ospreys. Strack/Jenkins topped the Bears' Katona/Sanchez 21-15, 21-16 and Medina/Budinska swept Duffy/Roy 21-16, 21-13 to complete the shutout for UNF.

North Florida, 2-0, sits atop the standings after the opening day of play with Stetson, Jacksonville and Florida Gulf Coast tied at 1-1. Mercer (0-2) is still looking for its first win.

Due to the threat of inclement weather Saturday afternoon, tournament action will begin an hour earlier at 8 a.m. for day two play. Matches slated for round two include Mercer vs FGCU (8 a.m.), JU vs Stetson (8 a.m.), Mercer vs Stetson (10 a.m.), UNF vs FGCU (11 a.m.) and UNF vs JU (1 p.m.).

The tournament wraps up Sunday with a single elimination flighted pairs competition beginning at 9 a.m.

Final Results
North Florida 4, Stetson 1
No. 1 – D. Medina/A. Budinska (UNF) def. K. Melville/J. Bassett (SU) – 2-1 (21-17, 18-21, 15-11)
No. 2 – E. Strack/C. Jenkins (UNF) def. A. Stonish/M. Rygh (SU) – 2-0 (21-19, 21-14)
No. 3 – B. Claessens/J. Trembley (UNF) def. A. Hoffman/C. Kalin – 2-0 (21-14, 21-16)
No. 4 – C. DiGirolamo/S. Marin (SU) def. P. Pridgeon/C. McGuire (UNF) – 2-0 (21-18, 21-16)
No. 5 –N. Baran/A. Shirley (UNF) def. K. Ream/S. Byl – 2-1 (24-26, 21-17, 15-8)

North Florida 5, Mercer 0
No. 1 – D. Medina/A. Budinska (UNF) def. J. Duffy/C. Roy – 2-0 (21-16, 21-13)
No. 2 – E. Strack/C. Jenkins (UNF) def. J. Katona/M. Sanchez – 2-0 (21-15, 21-16)
No. 3 – B. Claessens/J. Trembley (UNF) def. E. Rochefort/C. Carlton – 2-0 (21-16, 23-21)
No. 4 –P. Pridgeon/C. McGuire (UNF) def. L. Braxton/M. Petsos – 2-0 (21-12, 21-18)
No. 5 –N. Baran/A. Shirley (UNF) def. L. Knapper/E. Brett – 2-0 (21-13, 21-16)