Ospreys Down San Jose State, Drop Nightcap to South Dakota State

Friday, September 14

Boca Raton, Fla

10:00 a.m.

University of North Florida

4-8

San Jose State

4-3

North Florida

San Jose State

Senior setter Madilyn McCarty posted her fifth and sixth double-doubles of the season during the split.

Ospreys Down San Jose State, Drop Nightcap to South Dakota State

9/14/2018 8:06:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score (SJSU)Box Score (SDSU)

McCarty Posts Sixth Double-Double in a Row on Day One at Owls Classic

BOCA RATON, Fla. - North Florida (4-9) opened its final regular season tournament with a five-set triumph against San Jose State, South Dakota State's strong start led to a UNF split on day one at the Owls Classic Friday, September 14.

Match 1 | UNF 3, San Jose State 2 (25-27, 30-28, 21-25, 25-20, 15-10)
San Jose State took the opening set, but UNF played a cleaner contest the rest of the way and received double-doubles from senior Madilyn McCarty and redshirt-sophomore Gabby O'Connell to nab its second five-set win in as many matches.

Behind the Box Score

Set one was up for grabs, but San Jose State strung together the last three points to take the opener. SJSU (4-3) and UNF were tied 15 times in set one, the last time being at 27-27 after a fortuitous over ball kept sophomore Callie Workman from an ace and UNF from the set. SJSU benefited from consecutive attack errors to close it out.
UNF only committed two hitting errors in set two to even it up. SJSU looked poised to go up 2-0, leading 14-9, but UNF crept back into the set and registered a 6-0 run to erase a 20-19 deficit.
Other than after the first point of the third set, UNF was down until leading 18-17 courtesy of a kill from freshman Solimar Cestero. Cestero and O'Connell notched two big kills and UNF capitalized on SJSU's 11th and 12th service blunders of the match, taking a 2-1 lead.
SJSU erupted to hit .500 in the fourth, forcing a decisive set.
Down 5-4, a 3-0 run turned the tides and gave UNF a lead they never relinquished. O'Connell led with three kills in the final set.
Coach Wright on the win: "We had a great win this morning. We grinded out some rallies and scored well at both pins," head coach Kristen Wright said. "I was really proud of the girls ability to make small adjustments."

Leaders by the Numbers

O'Connell | 13 kills, 18 digs (season-high)
- Sixth double-double in the last seven matches
McCarty | 26 assists, 11 digs
- Fifth-straight double-double
Wheeler | 15 kills, five total blocks
Taryn Griffey | Three aces, ties a career high

Other Points of Interest

UNF is now 2-2 in five-set matches. Both of their five-set wins have come despite dropping the opening set.
UNF picked up its first win against a Mountain West foe team this season, and their first-ever win against a Mountain West opponent.
Friday marks the first time that UNF has defeated a team with current-Division I status from California.
SJSU has been abysmal on the serve. They committed 17 service errors, giving them 66 in eight matches.
SJSU had 25 more kills than UNF, but the Ospreys limited their losses, committing 10 fewer hitting errors and 13 fewer service errors.
UNF now has three players with at least 100 kills (Griffey, Solimar Cestero and Wheeler)

Match 2 | SDSU 3, UNF 2 (15-25, 25-23, 25-23, 19-25)
UNF forged the start of a comeback in the third set and went on a 10-5 run late in the fourth, but the Jackrabbits (3-9) lept to an early lead that couldn't be overcome in the nightcap.

SDSU simply had an efficient first set, hitting .423 to go up 1-0. Set two saw the Jackrabbits get hot late, supplying a 2-0 lead.
UNF put it together in the third, hitting .300 with only three errors to push the match to four.
An early 6-0 lead ended up helping SDSU stave off UNF's rabid run late in the fourth set. The Ospreys turned a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to 23-18, but SDSU hung on via an attack error and a kill from Makenzie Hennen.

Leaders by the Numbers

McCarty | 10 kills, 27 assists
- Hit a caeer-high .600 for her sixth double-double in as many games, using crafty play at the net.
Griffey reached double figures in kills the 11th time this season, hitting above .300 for 10 kills to go with six total blocks.
Lopez | 21 digs

Wright's Words
"This afternoon we wanted to rest O'Connell", Wright said. "Our serve-receive started off really shaky and we were just off. By the time we got into a groove, it was a bit too late. We have a new day tomorrow and I'm confident in our team to bounce back."

Up Next:
After a 12:30 p.m match against FAU Saturday, September 15, the Ospreys play their final non-conference match prior to ASUN play when they host Bethune-Cookman Tuesday, September 18 at 6:00 p.m. in the UNF Arena.