UNF-Florida Atlantic Boxscore (PDF)
 
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Powered by Courtyard Mayo Classic MVP Carina Hoff's 20 kills, University of North Florida volleyball held on for a thrilling 3-2 (25-19, 25-22, 24-26, 12-25, 16-14) victory over Florida Atlantic on Saturday at UNF Arena. It was UNF's first triumph over the Owls since posting a season-opening 3-2 win on Aug. 28, 2009 at the UCF Fall Classic. Additionally, Saturday's win marked a perfect 3-0 weekend for the Ospreys, allowing them to win the Courtyard Mayo Classic.
 
"Florida Atlantic is a great program and they do a lot of things really well. The match tonight could have gone either way," said head coach Steve Loeswick. "I was really happy with how our team responded in some of those close sets."
 
Hoff's 20 kills are a career-high and were the most in the match. Courtney Miller had a 15-kill, 10-dig double-double, while Tessa Alyman added 15 kills and seven blocks. Abby Fesl notched a 30-assist, 15 dig double-double and Carinne Turner added in 26 assists. Kimberly Ferguson chipped in with 13 digs.
 
UNF hit .221 for the match, tallying 65 kills, 61 digs and 11.5 total blocks.
 
Maja Ristic and Kristina Rankovic led the Florida Atlantic offense with 19 and 14 kills, respectively. Ivone Martinez put up 30 assists, while Nathalie Rosado made 22 digs.
 
Florida Atlantic hit .195 with 61 kills, 72 digs and nine service aces.
 
UNF came out with a strong defensive first set that included 6.0 team blocks. An Alyman kill early in the first set sparked a six-point run that lifted the Ospreys to a 16-11 lead. The Owls attempted to chip away at UNF's lead and came to within three on a Rankovic kill at 21-18. However, UNF finished the set with a 4-1 run that consisted of two blocks, including one from Alyman and Morgan Van Alstine to win the set.
 
UNF led for much of the second set, but its largest lead was only four points as the Ospreys went up 14-10 on an Owl attack error. Despite Florida Atlantic making it a one-point set multiple times, UNF held off the Owls and secured the set victory with a block from Van Alstine and Miller.
 
In the third set, the Ospreys could withstand Florida Atlantic's rally. After being up 15-10, the Ospreys saw Florida Atlantic string together multiple points and ultimately take a 21-20 lead on an Osprey blocking error. UNF fought back to tie the set at 24-24 with an Alyman and Erin Edwards block, but a kill from Brittney Brown and an Osprey attacking error allowed the Owls to gain the set's last two points.
 
However, in the fourth set, with the Ospreys down by one, a Ristic kill was the start of a 12-0 run that put the Owls up 24-11. A kill from Van Alstine halted the run, but a Rankovic kill was the Owls' set-winner that forced a fifth set.
 
UNF held an 11-8 advantage in the fifth set on an Alyman kill, but Florida Atlantic came back to force an 11-11 tie with a Ristic kill. After trading points, a Hoff kill put UNF up 15-14, while a Van Alstine and Miller block provided the Ospreys with the match-winning point.
 
"We backed down and lost some of our confidence in that fourth set," said Loeswick. "The only way you get that confidence back is by playing ultra-aggressive. That was our plan in the fifth set. We had a couple good bounces that went our way and won a really close match against a very good team."
 
Following the conclusion of the match, the All-Tournament Team was announced. Along with Hoff as the MVP, also named All-Tournament were UNF's Alyman and Miller, Florida Atlantic's Ristic and Brown, Campbell's Rachel Harty and Bethune-Cookman's Normarie Rolon-Soto.
 
UNF returns to action with its first mid-week match of the season on Tuesday. The Ospreys travel to Florida A&M for a 6 p.m., match at the Al Lawson Center.