Boxscore (PDF)UNF-Kennesaw State Live Stats SPARTANBURG, S.C. – A ferocious comeback allowed University of North Florida volleyball to take a 3-2 (24-26, 20-25, 25-21, 25-18, 15-9) victory at USC Upstate on Friday night, pushing the Ospreys' winning streak to 10 matches. UNF also improves to14-3 overall and 2-0 in Atlantic Sun play.
A quartet of Ospreys reached double-digits in kills, while two Ospreys had double-doubles.
Carina Hoff (19 kills),
Tessa Alyman (16 kills),
Erin Edwards (10 kills) and
Ambre Desaulnay (10 kills) paced the Ospreys' offense.
Abby Fesl notched a 46-asssit, 11-dig double-double, while Desaulnay added 10 digs to her 10 kills for her third double-double of the season. Meanwhile,
Kimberly Ferguson notched a career-high 33 digs, which ties for fifth all-time in UNF's five-set single-match records.
UNF hit .250 for the match, recording 70 kills and 83 digs. After hitting .000 and .150 in the first and second sets, respectively, the Ospreys hit over .400 in the final three sets. During those last three sets, UNF tallied 48 kills and committed only six errors.
Madison Haake had a 12-kill, 18-assist, 14-dig triple-double. Emily Koelling added 12 kills, while Callie Yeargin and Kayla Eversgerd had 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Eversgerd also tallied a team-best 15 digs.
UNF appeared to have the first set in its grasp, reaching set point on a Desaulnay kill that made it 24-20. However, a Haake kill started a six-point, set-ending run that lifted USC Upstate to the 26-24 win.
In the second set, USC Upstate capitalized on a slow Osprey start, and held a 20-15 lead off a Yeargin kill. UNF chipped away at the deficit and pulled to within two off a
Katarina Raicevic and
Morgan Van Alstine block. However, the Spartans ended the set with a 4-1 run in order to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
UNF took control of the third set early, using an 8-0 run to gain an 8-2 advantage. The Ospreys ultimately pushed their lead to nine as a Spartan attack error made it 14-5. USC Upstate cut into UNF's lead and pulled to within three when a Rebecca Shearer kill made it 23-20, but UNF ultimately won the set on an Alyman kill.
Two key runs midway through the fourth set allowed the Ospreys to take a critical 20-12 lead. UNF increased its lead to a nine-point, 22-13 advantage off a Spartan attack miscue. After a block from Hoff and Edwards put UNF up 23-14, USC Upstate went on a five-point run to close the gap. However, kills from Hoff and Desaulnay gave the Ospreys the last two points they needed to force a decisive fifth set.
As control battled between the two teams early, an Alyman kill sparked a critical three-point Osprey run that put UNF up 11-7. After USC Upstate took advantage of an Osprey service error to halt the run, a kill from Edwards started another Osprey three-point spurt. UNF went up 14-8 on a Hoff kill. While a Haake kill kept USC Upstate alive, another Hoff kill ended the match and gave UNF it's 10th-straight victory.
UNF returns to action on Saturday at Kennesaw State. Match time is set for 3 p.m., at the KSU Convocation Center.
