Ospreys Claim Inaugural ASun Sand Volleyball Championship

Saturday, April 21

Jacksonville, Fla.

12 pm

University of North Florida

Florida Gulf Coast

4/21/2012 5:46:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

Postmatch Interview (Steve Loeswick)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –The North Florida sand volleyball team defeated both Florida Gulf Coast and Jacksonville Saturday en route to making history by claiming the inaugural Atlantic Sun Conference Sand Volleyball Championship.

UNF (9-2) opened Saturday's play with a hard-fought 3-2 win over FGCU then edged crosstown rival Jacksonville, 3-2, following a 45 minute weather delay to secure the team championship with a perfect 4-0 record at the Dolphin Beach Volleyball Complex.

“I'm just so proud of our entire team,” said first-year UNF head coach Steve Loeswick, who was named the A-Sun Coach of the Year after leading the squad to the title. “The championship was truly a team effort as we got contributions from all of our pairs and also had tremendous support from all the other players on our team. To be the first team in the country to win a conference sand volleyball championship is an wonderful accomplishment for our program and UNF as a whole.”

Against FGCU, UNF fell behind early as the Eagles earned the first point of the match with a 2-0 (21-19, 21-18) victory at the No. 4 spot. The Ospreys quickly evened the match score when the No. 5 duo of Nicole Baran/Allison Shirley swept FGCU's Meyer/Childs team, 21-13, 21-16.

UNF grabbed its second point following a thrilling three-set contest at No. 3 won by the Osprey tandem of Britt Claessens and Julie Trembley, 21-16, 20-22, 17-15. The Eagles answered with a win at No. 1 as Dagnija Medina and Anna Budinska came up just short to the Holm/Youngquist pairing (19-21, 18-21).

North Florida's No. 2 tandem of Emily Strack and Carolyn Jenkins secured the win against Mambuca/Mesner in a three-set contest that required extra points. Strack/Jenkins grabbed set one 21-12 before dropping set two 22-20. The Osprey duo fought off a match point then scored two straight points for the 17-15 victory.

In the match with JU, Baran and Shirley staked the Ospreys to the early lead winning in straight sets (25-23, 22-20) over Robertson/Orner. UNF's No. 4 pair of Paige Pridgeon and Cameron McGuire battled for thru three sets but came up just short in a 19-21, 21-18, 12-15 contest.

Strack and Jenkins earned the second point for UNF with a 2-0 (22-20, 21-16) win over JU's Kane/Strausbaugh followed minutes later by the decisive point from Claessens/Trembley with their sweep of Cullen/Teplitz, 21-11, 21-11. The Dolphins' top tandem of Courtney/Whitmire closed the scoring with a three-set (21-17, 9-21, 10-15) win.

The pairings of Baran/Shirley, Claessens/Trembley and Strack/Jenkins all finished the weekend with perfect 4-0 marks while Medina/Budinska went 2-2 while Pridgeon/McGuire were 1-3.

The A-Sun Championship concludes Sunday with a single elimination flighted pairs competition beginning at 8 a.m.

Final Results
North Florida 3, FGCU 2
No. 1 – K. Holm/H. Youngquist (FGCU) def. D. Medina/A. Budinska (UNF) – 2-0 (21-19, 21-18)
No. 2 – E. Strack/C. Jenkins (UNF) def. K. Mambuca/O. Mesner (FGCU) – 2-1 (21-12, 20-22, 17-15)
No. 3 – B. Claessens/J. Trembley (UNF) def. B. Kohler/B. Muse (FGCU) – 2-1 (21-16, 20-22, 17-15)
No. 4 – W. Masters/J. Hopper (FGCU) def. P. Pridgeon/C. McGuire (UNF) – 2-0 (21-15, 21-19)
No. 5 –N. Baran/A. Shirley (UNF) def. G. Meyer/L. Childs (FGCU) – 2-0 (21-13, 21-16)

North Florida 3, Jacksonville 2
No. 1 – K. Courtney/C. Whitmire (JU) def. D. Medina/A. Budinska (UNF) – 2-1 (21-17, 9-21, 10-15)
No. 2 – E. Strack/C. Jenkins (UNF) def. K. Kane/S. Strausbaugh (JU) – 2-0 (22-20, 21-16)
No. 3 – B. Claessens/J. Trembley (UNF) def. N. Cullen/N. Teplitz (JU) – 2-0 (21-11, 21-11)
No. 4 – A. Loeppky/C. Sanderson (JU) def. P. Pridgeon/C. McGuire (UNF) – 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 12-15)
No. 5 –N. Baran/A. Shirley (UNF) def. A. Robertson/J. Orner (JU) – 2-0 (25-23, 22-20)