COLUMBIA, S.C. - North Florida opened the final day of the Gamecock Invitational with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Mercer, the Osprey's second five-set victory in as many matches, as the first weekend of play continued in Columbia. UNF finished the weekend 2-1 on the weekend after dropping the final match to host South Carolina Saturday evening. 

UNF 3, Mercer 2 (25-21,18-25,25-19,23-25,17-15)

Top Performers of Match
Devyn Wheeler - 14 kills | .344 hit percentage
Taryn Griffey- 10 kills | .389 hit percentage
Madilyn McCarty- 25 assists | 12 digs
Ashley LaBorde- 14 digs
Sadie Thurston- 20 assists | 11 digs

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Ospreys quickly took a 7-2 lead and continued to hold on until the Bears got within two, 16-14. North Florida grabbed five of the next seven points take a 21-16 lead, but Mercer closed into make it a 22-20 score. Hoff notched a kill and then paired with Griffey to record a block before Mercer laid down a kill. The Ospreys defensive specialist then knocked over a tricky ball to take the set 25-21.
 
Mercer came out in set two to dominate the Ospreys, hitting .484 for the set. The Bears went out in front by as many as 11 before UNF tried to mount a comeback, scoring seven of the next nine points to cut the deficit to, 23-17. Mercer quickly finished the set off, 25-18 to knot the match.
 
The Ospreys battled back in the third set as they jumped out to an early, 7-2, lead and led by as many as seven in the match. Mercer tried to come back with short spurts, but could not stop North Florida as a block by Wheeler followed by a kill from Griffey closed up the set to give UNF a 2-1 lead.
 
In the fourth set, neither team led by more than three points with the final coming at 18-15. Mercer then scored seven unanswered points and held off a 4-1 run from Ospreys to force a fifth set for the second time in as many days.
 
The fifth frame saw 14 ties before North Florida rattled off three straight points to grab its second straight victory.

South Carolina 3, UNF 0 (19-25, 22-25, 17-25)
Top Performers of Match
Carina Hoff- 9 kills
Madilyn McCarty- 23 assists

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Ospreys jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in the opening set before the Gamecocks knotted the score back at 10-all. North Florida went on a 4-0 run to take its biggest lead of the set before the home team outscored the Ospreys, 15-5, to take the first set,  25-19.

The two teams played even as the Ospreys took a slim, 12-10, lead in the second set. The Gamecocks scored seven unanswered to own a 17-12 lead before the Ospreys responded with six of the next seven to tie it at 18. After a 21-19 lead for the Ospreys, South Carolina closed out the set with a 6-1 run to take a 2-0 advantage.

The Gamecocks controlled the final set as they hit .353 in the set and held UNF to hitting .057 in the set. The Gamecocks raced out to an 8-1 advantage and never looked back as the hosts grabbed the 25-17 win to take the match.

Quick Hits
- For the second straight match, North Florida led off the block. This time with a 14-8 advantage over Mercer with Alana Shoff leading with seven block assists.
- In the second match of her collegiate career, freshman Devyn Wheeler led the Ospreys with 14 kills after just four in Friday's win over Troy.
- LaBorde led the team with four aces including three against the Gamecocks.
- For her performance, Griffey earned All-Tournament accolades after hitting .333 percent with 25 kills and 12 total blocks on the weekend.

Coach Loeswick's Thoughts
"We did some really good things today. We still have a lot of room for improvement and a lot of room for growth, but I was excited with how many of our new players played for the first time. We need to get better and more consistent, and that is something that is completely within our control. We are loooking forward to playing in front of our home fans this week."

Up Next
The Ospreys return home for the home opener on Wednesday, Aug. 30 against Savannah State at 7 p.m. inside UNF Arena.