JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Alabama took the opening set but redshirt-sophomore
Gabby O'Connell went off for a season-high 20 kills and four players provided double-digit digs as the Ospreys clinched an ASUN Volleyball Championship berth with a 3-1 win triumph against the visiting Lions (4-21, 2-14 ASUN).
North Florida (10-21, 5-10 ASUN) takes the sixth and final seed in the tournament. It will play three-seeded Lipscomb (17-11, 12-4 ASUN) Thursday, Nov. 15.
"The first set was on us as we beat ourselves," head coach
Kristen Wright said. "We knew that it was going to take some time with a new lineup, but we have trained to be versatile and this is when it came to fruition."
UNF 3, UNA 1 | 23-25, 28-26, 25-18, 26-24 | Box Score
Behind the Box Score
- Both teams had three service errors, seven attack errors and 13 kills in the first set, but one UNA ace and a UNF ball-handling error was the difference in the first set.
- Four points was the largest lead for either team in an opening set that had nine ties. O'Connell had seven kills, hitting .500 in the opener.
- The second set was even more evenly matched, seeing 18 ties and eight lead changes. UNF staved off one match point, tying it 25-25 on an O'Connell kill.
- Freshman Kirby Smith and sophomore Devyn Wheeler earned the final two points on kills.
- Set three was North Florida's cleanest of the night. UNF committed only four errors and held UNA to eight kills.
- North Florida played from behind for most of the fourth set, having to overcome a 20-17 deficit to avoid a five-set match.
- A timely 6-0 run gave UNF a 23-20 lead that quickly dissolved into a 23-23 deadlock. Freshman Solimar Cestero and Wheeler came up with kills to help seal the fourth.
Leaders By the Numbers
- O'Connell | 20 kills, 11 digs (11th double-double of the season)
- Asante Lopez | 20 digs
- McCarty | 49 assists, eight kills (.389 hitting percentage)
- Sophomore Emma Dixon | Six blocks (season high)
Notes
- This is the eighth time in the last nine years UNF has clinched a berth in the ASUN Volleyball Championship.
- O'Connell eclipsed 300 digs and 300 kills for the season, doing so for the second time in her career.
- Four Ospreys posted double-digit digs, the first time this has happened in 2018. Sophomore Madison Donnelly added 16 and classmate Callie Workman tallied 12.
- McCarty now has 982 assists this season, 18 shy of eclipsing 1,000 for the second time in her three seasons at UNF.
- O'Connell's 20 digs is the second most for a UNF player this year. Devyn Wheeler's 21 kills against North Dakota September 10 is an individual-game high for the Ospreys.
- UNF tallied 20 block assists tonight, the fourth time it has reached such a mark this season. North Florida is 3-1 in such matches.
- Cestero had 10 kills for her ninth double-digit kill outing of the year. Wheeler had 13, her seventh double-digit outing of the year.
Wright's Words
"I'm really proud of our team, a lot of people stepped up. It wasn't pretty but normally in those types of matches it never is. Gabby has been trending up and has becoming more and more like that go to player that we know she is. I think what is true of any player like Gabby in the league, is that you're going to have your moments when you take your risks and have a few errors. But, she did a nice job of being resilient and she was very coachable."
"Tomorrow it is about our seniors playing lights out on the floor. I want them to remember playing and having fun and having their best night of volleyball on their home floor."
Up Next
North Florida closes out the regular season with senior night against NJIT tomorrow at 6 p.m. back at the UNF Arena.
