Boxscore (PDF)
 
ROCK HILL, S.C. – University of North Florida volleyball opened the Winthrop Classic with a 3-1 (25-15, 25-18, 19-25, 25-18) win over Western Carolina on Friday evening at the Winthrop Coliseum.
 
“It is always good to get a win,” said head coach Steve Loeswick. “We talked as a team after the match about wanted to play at a more consistent level throughout the match. It was nice that we were able to make a few important plays during the three sets we won. We are going to continue to make positive strides and look forward to tomorrow's competition.”
 
Anna Budinska and Paige Pridgeon paced UNF with a pair of double-doubles. Budinska had a 10-kill, 24 dig double-double. Budinska's digs were a career-high and the first time she tallied over 20 digs in match. Pridgeon added 15-kill, 17-dig performance for her fourth double-double of the season.
 
Also offensively, Carolyn Jenkins was also in double-digits in kills, making 14. Britt Claessens put up 46 assists. Defensively, Nicole Baran had 30 digs. It was her third 30-or-more dig match of the season and the fourth of her career.
 
Jordan Timmerman led Western Carolina with 10 kills. Morgan Cochran had a team-best 28 digs.
 
A strong attack and several aces powered the Ospreys to a 25-15 first set win. Leading by three, Pridgeon sparked an early six-point run that put UNF ahead 14-6. That run included three Pridgeon kills and an ace from Baran. Later in the set, UNF got four consecutive points from Dagnija Medina in order to go up 21-12. Medina had a kill to start the run and then served up three consecutive aces.  
 
UNF and Western Carolina battled throughout the second set. After a close start, the Ospreys gradually pulled away. Two key three-point spurts midway and late in the set allowed UNF to go up 20-13. Kills from Jenkins started both of those runs and Jenkins was responsible for four of UNF's six points. The Ospreys eventually closed out the set on a Western Carolina service error.
 
The third set was closely contested until midway through the set. Tied at 14-14, Western Carolina went on a costly eight-point run to pull away from the Ospreys. Although UNF fought back, the Catamounts took the third set and UNF held a 2-1 advantage in the match.
 
UNF led the fourth set from start to finish. Three of the Ospreys first four points were the result of key three-straight blocks. The Ospreys got out to an early seven-point lead when a Medina kill put UNF up 12-5. Although the Catamounts cut UNF's lead down to three, UNF built up another seven-point advantage when a Jenkins kill made it 16-9. UNF maintain a significant lead throughout the remainder of the set and sealed the match win with a kill from Budinska.
 
UNF wraps up play at the Winthrop Classic with two matches on Saturday. The day begins with a 10 a.m. match against North Carolina A&T and then ends against host Winthrop at 3 p.m.