Boxscore (PDF) JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In front on an electrifying crowd of 1,034, University of North Florida volleyball overpowered crosstown rival Jacksonville 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-15) in a Friday night River City Rumble match at UNF Arena.
"The crowd was amazing," said head coach Steve Loeswick. "It was awesome that we had so many people here. The energy they provided definitely gave us a lift, especially in the second set when we were down a few points.
"We've been playing well for a couple weeks. There are a lot of good teams in our league with Jacksonville being one of them. This is always an intense match. We made a few extra plays tonight to get the win."
UNF set the tone early in the first set as Jacksonville was limited to just five kills in that set alone. Multiple runs allowed the Ospreys to take a commanding 20-9 lead. A kill from
Tessa Alyman provided UNF with the 11-point cushion. Jacksonville answered with a pair of three-point runs to cut the Ospreys' lead down to seven. The teams fought for the set's final few points with a kill from
Courtney Miller clinching the set for UNF.
Jacksonville came out strong in the second set and had a pair of seven-point leads, including at 17-10 on an Emily Laskelle kill. UNF fought back and brought the Dolphins' lead down to one behind a six-point run. A kill from
Erin Edwards sparked the run and a key block by
Abby Fesl and Alyman made it a 17-16 in favor of Jacksonville. Sammie Strausbaugh's kill and an Osprey attack error provided Jacksonville with a three-point advantage, but UNF continued to chip away at Jacksonville's lead. The Ospreys took advantage of a Strausbaugh attack error to go on a critical 6-0 run that lifted UNF to a 24-20 lead. A kill from Strausbaugh kept the Dolphins alive in the set, a Jacksonville service error gave the Ospreys their last point for the set victory.
UNF pulled away from Jacksonville in the third set, stringing together points throughout the set. An Alyman kill put the Ospreys up 14-10. UNF continued to expand on its lead and finished the set and the match on a 4-0 run. Alyman had three kills during the run, while
Erin Edwards slammed down the match-winning kill.
Courtney Miller posted an 11-kill, 10-dig double-double, while Alyman and Edwards tallied 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Fesl put up 30 assists and
Cari Whitmire had 17 digs.
UNF hit .233 for the match, including .316 in the third set. The Ospreys made 49 kills and 65 digs.
Strausbaugh led Jacksonville with 12 kills. Jizzian Gesulado recorded 21 assists and Rachel Miller had 12 digs.
Jacksonville's hitting was limited to .093 for the match and the Dolphins had 23 kills and 51 digs.
UNF is back in action next weekend with its final two road matches of the regular season. The Ospreys begin the road swing at USC Upstate on Friday with match time at 6 p.m.
