BUIES CREEK, N.C. – University of North Florida volleyball held off Elon on Friday for a 3-2 victory (20-25, 25-23, 25-19, 19-25, 15-9) to start the Hampton Inn & Suites of Holly Springs Invitational hosted by Campbell at Gore Arena.
 
"Both Tess [Alyman] and Courtney [Miller] took some really good swings at important times during the match," said head coach Steve Loeswick. "Cari [Whitmire] had an excellent night passing and defending. It was a good all-around team effort."
 
In the first set, Elon was able to build a four-point 18-14 before taking the first set from the Ospreys.
 
UNF rebounded in a close second set and held off the Phoenix late. The Ospreys had a two-point, set-point 24-22 advantage. Elon stayed alive during the next point, but UNF prevailed and got set point in order to tie the match at 1-1.
 
Up by 3, UNF closed out the third set on a 4-1 run to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Elon forced a decisive fifth set after claiming a six-point victory in the fourth set to even the match at 2-2.
 
UNF quickly jumped ahead in the fifth set and held a commanding 10-5 lead. Although Elon cut the deficit down to two, the Ospreys finished the match on a 5-2 run.
 
UNF concludes play at the Hampton Inn & Suites of Holly Springs Invitational with a pair of matches on Saturday. The Ospreys face host Campbell at 12:30 p.m., and South Carolina at 4:30 p.m.