JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida volleyball got out to a hot start in the opening frame, but it was not enough as Kennesaw State took the match, 3-1, on Saturday evening at UNF Arena.

Top Performers
Erin Edwards - 10 kills, .909 Hitting Percentage
Madilyn McCarty - 24 Assists
Morgan Van Alstine - 6 kills, 3 block assists
Gabby O;Connell - 14 digs, 9 kills

QUICK HITS
- Edwards had an errorless game on 11 attacks with 10 kills.
- Gabby O'Connell missed recording her ninth double-double after finishing with nine kills  
- The Ospreys .128 hitting perentage for the night is the third lowest for the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
KSU 3, UNF 1 (22-25, 25-12, 25-18, 25-18)
The Ospreys outhit the visitors .205 to .139 in the opening set. Senior Morgan Van Alstine recorded five of her six total kills in the first, while classmate Erin Edwards had three of her own. The teams traded points through the first 22, but then 7-1 run pushed UNF ahead 18-12. A kill from team-leader Anaiah Boyer sparked a four-point run for the Owls, but UNF then responded with five straight points of its own. Kennesaw State tried to get back with a 5-0 run at set point to pull within 24-23, but an attack error put the set in the Ospreys' favor. 

The first set became a distant memory for Kennesaw State as they soared to a 17-7 lead. UNF hit just .185 for the frame with seven kills, while KSU hit .429. From there the momentum continued in the visitors' favor. The teams traded points with Kennesaw holding a slight 8-7 edge before rattling off an 114 run thanks to five points on Karla Radillo's serves. The Ospreys stopped the Owls from getting three sest points, but a final kill from Boyer put them ahead 2-1 for the match.

UNF garnered the first point in the fourth set, but from there it was Kennesaw's game as it led 11-3 early on. The Ospreys got back into the match on Van Alstine's serves wwith a 4-0 run, but the Owls quickly turned it around to lead 17-11. North Florida was not ready to give up and pulled wiht two on an ace from Katarina Raicevic, but Boyer was once again a thorn in the home team's side as she recorded four kills down the stretch to give the Owls their eighth straight win,.

LOOKING AHEAD
North Florida heads out on one of its longest road trips of the season as it travels to USC Upstate on Friday, Oct. 7 before taking off north to NJIT for a Sunday showdown in Newark.