UNF-Florida Atlantic Boxscore (PDF)UNF-Georgia State Boxscore (PDF)Tickets JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – University of North Florida volleyball earned a split during the first day of the Jax Marriott Volleyball Classic on Friday at UNF Arena. The Ospreys fell 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-21) to Florida Atlantic in the afternoon, but came back with a strong 3-0 sweep of Georgia State (25-22, 25-16, 25-21) in the evening.
"It was a great crowd tonight and fun to play in front of this atmosphere," said head coach Steve Loeswick. "We're excited to get our first win. Hopefully, we'll carry that momentum into tomorrow."
Florida Atlantic 3, UNF 0Senior
Cameron McGuire made nine blocks and junior
Tessa Alyman tallied 11 kills, but the Ospreys were swept by Florida Atlantic in three close sets that were not determined until late.
"It was frustrating. I was happy with how we played for most of all those three sets. The good and mature teams usually make plays at the end of sets to finish off and that's something we have to get better at."
With 14 ties and four lead changes in the first set, UNF held a 17-16 lead on an Owl attacking error. Florida Atlantic answered with a four-point run in order to go up 20-17. UNF fought and used another Florida Atlantic attacking error to tie the set at 22-22. After a kill from Kristina Rankovic put the Owls up by one, a
Courtney Miller kill quickly tied the set at 23-all. However, a kill from Brittany Brown and block from Genesis Viera and Brown allowed the Owls to take the first set.
UNF had a late one-point lead in the second set, but with the Ospreys up 18-17, Florida Atlantic used a three-point run to erase the UNF's advantage. A block from Liene Mellupe and Katarina Stepanovic allowed the Owls to go up 20-18. Florida Atlantic built up a pair of four-point leads, including at 24-20 on a Rankovic kill. Kills from Miller and McGuire kept UNF alive, but Florida Atlantic got set-point from Ivana Bulajic to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Trailing 19-12, a McGuire kill sparked a five-point run that allowed UNF to cut the deficit down to two in the third set. UNF eventually got to within one point of the Owls as Alyman served an ace to make it 21-20. However, Florida Atlantic used a 4-1 run to end the match.
Abby Fesl put up 21 assists in two sets and
Carinne Turner tallied 11 assists in one set.
Cari Whitmire and
Ambre Desaulnay made 11 and 10 digs, respectively.
UNF hit .150 for the match with 36 kills.
Rankovic paced Florida Atlantic with 13 kills. Viera recorded 36 assists. Nicole Rosado and Nicole Unger notched 17 and 12 digs, respectively.
Florida Atlantic hit .133 and recorded 41 kills.
UNF 3, Georgia State 0The Ospreys were consistent with their hitting throughout the match with Georgia State. UNF recorded a season-best .294 hitting percentage and hit above .250 in each set.
"We did a nice job at taking care of the ball, hitting efficiently and not making too many errors," said Loeswick.
Early runs in the first set allowed UNF to hold a commanding 20-11 lead. A kill from Miller put the Ospreys up by nine points, which was their second nine-point advantage of the set. Georgia State sliced into UNF's lead with an 8-1 run to make it 21-19. The Panthers pulled to within one with a Brianna Jones block to make it 23-22, but kills from Alyman and
Erin Edwards sealed the first set for the Ospreys.
UNF led from start to finish in the second set and hit .375 for the set alone. The Ospreys had multiple spurts of points, allowing them pull away from Georgia State. UNF took a nine-point, 22-13 lead on a
Tessa Alyman kill. Georgia State closed the deficit to six with a three-point run. Another Alyman kill halted the Panthers' run. After a Deidra Bohannon error for Georgia State, Turner served up a set-winning ace.
The Ospreys attempted to pull away from Georgia State midway through the third set. Down 14-13, a Panther service error was the start of a six-point Osprey run that put UNF up 19-14. Georgia State attempted another comeback and used a 6-2 spurt to narrow the margin down to one point. A kill from Edwards and several Georgia State miscues allowed the Ospreys to get their final four points of the match.
Miller paced UNF with 11 kills and hit .357, while Alyman tallied nine kills and hit .318. Turner put up 32 assists and Whitmire recorded 10 digs.
UNF made 40 kills.
Bohannon led Georgia State with 11 kills. Natalia Nieto tallied 16 assists and Gabby Serafin recorded eight digs.
Georgia State hit .150 for the match and recorded 36 kills.
North Florida concludes its home-opening weekend on Saturday with two matches. The Ospreys host Coastal Carolina at 10 a.m., and Bethune-Cookman at 6 p.m., at UNF Arena.
