Box Score Final Boxscore (pdf)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In a thrilling five-set River City Rumble battle, the North Florida volleyball team came up just short in a hard fought 3-2 loss to Jacksonville, Friday night in Swisher Gymnasium.
 
The Ospreys (16-8, 3-5 Atlantic Sun) were led on the night by Courtney Miller's double-double of 17 kills and 14 digs. Tessa Alyman and Katarina Raicevic both chipped in 14 kills on the night while libero Kimberly Ferguson paced the backline with a match high 22 digs.
 
Emily Laskelle paced a quartet of Dolphins (8-12, 5-3 ASun) in double figure kills finishing with 16. The Osprey defense snapped her streak of 20-kill matches at four and also held her to just a .103 hitting performance. JU used aggressive serving that resulted in eight aces and timely digs led by 19 from Mayara Prestes to earn the win.
 
"Proud of our team and how they came with energy and focus tonight," said head coach Steve Loeswick. "JU did some things that made it challenging for us. This was a thrilling match and we really appreciate the fan support from Osprey Nation. If we can play with this energy and effort every match, than we will continue to be a really tough team."
 
UNF came out of the gates quickly building a 4-1 lead in set one. Courtney Miller notched a pair of kills and Kimberly Ferguson capped the surge with an ace. The Ospreys would maintain a lead until a four-point spurt by the Dolphins evened the score at 8-8.
 
A four-point surge from the Ospreys swung the momentum back in favor of the visitors. With the score tied at 19, UNF closed the set on a 6-3 run fueled by a pair of strong blocks and outside blasts from Miller and Katarina Raicevic to claim the opening set, 25-22.
 
For the frame, UNF hit .412 highlighted by a combined 10 kills, 0 errors performance from Miller and Raicevic.
 
The efficient play continued early in the second set as UNF again built another advantage. Midway through the frame, JU used a 6-1 run to grab their first lead of the night, 17-13. The Ospreys battled back to even the score at 20-20, before seeing the Dolphins close out the stanza for the 25-22 match equaling victory.
 
The Ospreys opened the third set sluggishly, falling behind early 6-1 before rallying to knot the score at 8-8. A 12-3 run by the Dolphins but the set out of reach as JU moved in front in the match with a 25-15 win. UNF struggled offensively in the stanza hitting -.034 in the set with nine hitting errors.
 
After falling behind 7-2 in the fourth set, North Florida methodically chip away at the deficit using an 8-3 surge to earn a 10-10 tie. UNF would then score four straight points to grab their first lead since early in set two. The competition turned into a sideout battle for the remainder of the frame with neither team leading by more than two points. Back-to-back blocks by the Osprey frontline would prove the difference in a 25-23 decision that forced a fifth set.
 
The deciding stanza was tightly contested as the two squads traded points to eight, but JU used a closing 7-1 run to earn the match win with a 15-9 victory in the fifth set.
 
North Florida will next play its lone home match in a six-game stretch against Florida A&M on Oct. 28.