ATLANTA - North Florida volleyball came out on the wrong end of a four-set match against Kansas State on Thursday night to open the Georgia Tech Invite.
Kansas State 3, UNF 1 (18-25,19-25,25-21,23-25)
Top Performers
Madilyn McCarty- 29 assists | 6 kills | 8 digs
Taryn Griffey- 12 kills | .400 hitting percentage
Carina Hoff- 10 kills | 14 digs
Ashley LaBorde- 16 digs
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Early in the match, the teams went back and forth with three ties including being knotted up at nine apiece following Alana Shoff's second kill of the match. The set remained close throughout as the Wildcats held the lead, but only by as many as three points on either side. Kansas State closed on a 4-1 run to take the opening set 25-18.
- In the second set, the Wildcats flexed their muscles dominating the Ospreys throughout the set in route to a 25-19 set win. Kansas State had a .368 hitting percentage while holding UNF to just a .103 hitting.
- The Blue and Gray bounced back in set three as they led by a slim 6-5 margin before going on a 5-0 run to stretch their lead over Kansas State. The Wildcats didn't bow out as they fought back and tied the match at 21. The Ospreys closed out the set with four straight points to win, 25-21.
- Kansas State jumped out to a 13-7 lead, but the Ospreys battled back to within two points after going on a 7-3 run to trail 16-14. The two teams traded points down late in the set, but Kansas State pushed its lead to 24-19. However, the Ospreys battled to four straight match points before falling Kansas State grabbed the match, 25-23.
QUICK HITS
- Redshirt senior Carina Hoff had her second straight double-double of the season.
- Setter Madilyn McCarty posted her sixth match of with at least 20 assists.
- This marked the first meeting in program history between UNF and Kansas State.
Coach Loeswick's Thoughts
"I think we did a really nice job of serving tonight and gave ourselves some good opportunities. The grit was there, and the play is getting better, but still left a few easier points out there. We have some great challenges ahead of us tomorrow, but a good opportunity to continue to get better."
UP NEXT
The Ospreys conclude the Georgia Tech Invite on Friday with a pair of matches beginning at 1 p.m. against host Georgia Tech before battling Xavier at 6 p.m. to wrap up the weekend.
