Two Tie Career Highs, But Ospreys Were Clipped by Tennessee, Winthrop

Saturday, September 1

Knoxville, Tenn.

12:30 p.m.

University of North Florida

0-5

Tennessee

5-0

North Florida

Tennessee

McCarty had a double-double against her former squad, Winthrop.

Photo by: Todd Drexler

Two Tie Career Highs, But Ospreys Were Clipped by Tennessee, Winthrop

9/1/2018 8:32:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Ospreys Go to Five Sets With Eagles

Box Score (PDF)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The North Florida volleyball program's final day at the Rocky Top Invitational was a battle of three first-year head coaches, although the Ospreys were on the wrong side of things Saturday, September 1. UNF (0-6) came up just short in a five-set nail biting loss to Winthrop in the nightcap after taking a set from the host Lady Vols before falling 3-1 in the opener.

Junior Middle Blocker Taryn Griffey was named to the all-tournament team, her second all-tournament selection in as many weekends. Griffey tallied 43 kills at the Rocky Top Invitational.

Match 1: Tennessee 3, UNF 1 (25-12, 25-20, 25-23, 15-25)
While taking the loss to Tennessee (5-0), UNF joined Michigan State (previously ranked No. 22) as the only team to take a set from the Lady Vols in the early going this season. The Lady Vols have taken 15 of 17 sets in the early going and were receiving votes in the past week's national poll.

Behind the Box Score
Tennessee came to play on their home court in the opener, hitting .481 to bolster themselves on a 7-0 run that provided an 11-4 advantage. Tennessee went on to a 25-12 win, the largest margin of loss UNF has suffered in a set this season.

Griffey was sizzling early on, including the second set. The Wildwood, Mo. native hit 1.000 (7-for-7) through the second set, converting on all five attacks.
Griffey and company pushed the Lady Vols to the limit in the second set, forcing 11 ties while storming back from a 15-11 deficit to tie things at 16.
The Osprey bench played a crucial challenge reversing an attack error back in favor of the Ospreys, tying things up at 18-18. Three UT kills, an ace and a trio of UNF errors allowed the Lady Vols to hang on two the second set.
The rhythm UNF established in the second set carried to the third as a 5-0 run provided an early 7-3 lead that the Ospreys never relinquished. UNF led by as many as six at 17-11, but the Vols cut it to 17-14. Senior Asante Lopez dropped in an ace to propel a 4-0 run before UT's Lily Felts mishit an attack to seal UNF's 25-23 win.
The fourth set was a war of attrition and runs as UNF struggled, hitting -.081, while UT hit .172.
The Ospreys scrapped in the fourth, turning a 9-3 deficit to a 9-8 difference. Intermixed between four UT errors was a yellow card assessed to Lady Vols assistant coach as the Ospreys threatened. A 9-2 run carved out breathing room as the Lady Vols escaped a a potential UNF comeback.

By the Numbers

Griffey | 12 kills (was hitting 1.000 going into the third set)
Devyn Wheeler | Six kills, four block assists (one solo)
Solimar Cestero | Seven kills
Madilyn McCarty | 20 assists, nine digs

Match 2: Winthrop 3, UNF 2 (28-26, 20-25, 25-14, 20-25, 12-15)
The first set was indicative of the rest of the match, going in UNF's favor, 28-26, but Winthrop (1-6) was able to get the last laugh in the navy and gray's first five-set match of 2018.

Behind the Box Score

The Ospreys had a plethora of standout individual performances and led in attack percentage (.200 to .190) and blocks (9.0 to 6.0), but Winthrop scratched out six more kills and two more aces than UNF to outlast the Ospreys in a five-set thriller.
Four individual performances were of note for UNF:
Freshman Solimar Cestero hit a scorching .500 en route to 15 kills, tying a season and career high.
Redshirt-sophomore Gabby O'Connell had a number of sprawled out digs against UT but was aggressive in the nightcap, posting a season high 10 kills to go with 15 digs for her first double-double of the year.
Griffey tied a career high with 17 kills while tying Wheeler with four block assists.
McCarty dished out 42 assists to go with 15 digs in a stellar performance against her former team.
Tense moments towards the end of the first set, but UNF came out of a timeout and pulled it together to overcome a 24-22 deficit and win 27-25. A service error, attack error, Devyn Wheeler kill made it 25-24 Ospreys. Donnelly had a service error but O'Connell provided a clutch kill to take the opener.
UNF outhit the Eagles in the first set, but Winthrop reversed things in the second set, hitting .289. The two teams were tied five times, although UNF's latest lead was a 12-11 advantage as Winthrop had the late legs.
Winthrop possessed an early 3-0 upper hand, but Cestero worked a kill and Winthrop dropped a point with a set error as UNF got the 5-4 lead. UNF never looked back, winning their first set of the season by double-figures thanks to six Cestero kills.
Up 8-4 after an O'Connell kill, Winthrop had a 4-1 spurt to cut the Ospreys' lead to one. The middle of the set proved to be the turning point again. After a service error, Winthrop received a 16-15 lead that they didn't surrender. Griffey came up with a kill late in the set, cutting it to 22-2, but Winthrop hung on.
Unfortunately for UNF, Winthrop decided to hit .320 in the decisive set, posting 10 kills to nine by the Ospreys. UNF's latest lead was a 4-3 advantage before two attack errors and a timely service error gave Winthrop a lead they carried to the 15th point. Cestero, Griffey and O'Connell all showed energy late, registering two kills apiece in the set.
With Winthrop leading 13-12, a kill by Jace Klefner and an attack error finished the marathon match.

By the Numbers

Cestero, O'Connell and Griffey combined for 52 of UNF's 59 kills.
Transfer-sophomore Madison Donnelly received considerable playing time again, registering 12 digs.
McCarty has had at least 40 assists in two of three matches.
Klefner led with 18 kills for the Eagles, while Siani Yamaguchi had a game-high 49 assists.

Other Points of Interest

McCarty's 40 assists against Indiana State on Friday put her at 1,350 all-time in the navy and gray. That total is good for eighth in UNF history. If you take into account her 1,229 assist total as a freshman at Winthrop, McCarty would have 2,621 for her career, good for fifth all-time.
McCarty also faced off against her former team, the Winthrop Eagles.
UNF saw 12 play in the first match, putting 13 out on to the court against Winthrop. Eight of those 13 played five sets apiece.
Griffey has had double-digit kills in five of the first six matches of the season. Her 17 against Winthrop tied a career-high set against Oral Roberts Aug. 25.
She also eclipsed 400 career kills, the second time a UNF has done that in two days.
Kristen Wright is in her first year for the Ospreys. UT's Eve Rackham and Winthrop's Chuck Rey are also in their first years respectively.

Wright's Words
"I'm proud of our team and we are trusting the process," head coach Kristen Wright said. "We will find a way to show the effort and growth we are focused on. Fewer unforced errors and more execution following our steadfast mindset is the difference in winning for us."

Up Next
The Ospreys take a break from tournament play for a solo match at Georgia Southern Tuesday, September 4 at 6:30 p.m. The match will be played at the Georgia Southern Armstrong Campus in Savannah, Ga.

"This week is the time to make our efforts reflect on the scoreboard," Wright said.