JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Going by the numbers, 37 tie scores and 21 lead changes over five sets says enough about the nature of UNF (4-6) and FIU's five-set match Saturday, Sept. 14. Huge numbers were posted on both ends, but FIU (5-3) got the better end of things in the end, winning in five sets from the UNF Arena. 

It was a memorable day for a number of Ospreys, namely freshman setter Julianna Askew and Gabby O'Connell. Askew recorded 70 assists, tied for the most assists in a five-set match in UNF's DI history. Days after setting a new career high for kills, O'Connell went a notch higher, posting 29 kills to tie a UNF DI record for a five-set match. 

Solimar Cestero notched a career high with 16 kills and Taryn Griffey tied her own career high with another 18. The Wildwood, Mo., native also hit .643, tying a career high.

FIU 3, UNF 2 (27-25, 17-25, 25-22, 27-29, 15-17)

Inside the Sets

• Set 1: Eight ties and five lead changes made for an exciting first set … UNF spurned a 5-0 run to take a 23-20 lead, hitting .417 to career UNF to the first set … O'Connell and Griffey had five kills apiece … Askew had a pair of huge digs on the set-clinching point.
• Set 2: FIU simply had its best set of the day, hitting .367 behind 13 assists from setter Abbie Hughes.
• Set 3: With UNF up 5-2 O'Connell had already reached a double-double (10 kills, 13 digs) … Askew finished the set with 40 total assists and UNF hit a scorching .429 to stave off FIU … UNF set the tone with a five-point run near the front of the set, taking a 5-2 lead.
• Set 4: Set four was a marathon that featured two UNF set points and the longest set for the Ospreys this season … FIU stymied match points at 25-24 and 27-6, turning in a three-point run to take the set, 29-27.
• Set 5: With North Florida leading 5-4, the Panthers bookended three UNF attack errors with a pair of kills, establishing a 9-5 advantage … UNF had its own run highlighted by four O'Connell kills, setting up match points at 14-13 and 15-14 … A pair of attack errors and a service error led into the decisive kill from FIU's Sidney Henderson.

Leaders By the Numbers
UNF

• O'Connell | 29 kills, 19 digs
• Griffey | 18 kills, .643 hitting percentage
• Cestero | 16 kills
• Askew | 70 assists, 10 digs, six blocks
• Rocio Moro | 20 digs
• Dixon | Seven blocks

FIU

• Gina Lipscomb | 24 kills, five aces, 10 digs
• Fiorella Murillo | 16 kills
• Hughes | 56 assists, 17 digs
• Lina Bernier | 20 digs
• Chelsea Hudson | Four block assists

Notes

• Dixon had seven blocks, tying a career high set Nov. 10 of last season against NJIT.
• Askew tied Jenna Thomas' mark set September 27 of 2006 against Florida A&M.
• O'Connell tied Anna Budinska's tally set September 6, 2013, against FAU. The all-time record was set in 1996 when Becky De Jong had 36. 
• Cestero's previous career high was 15 kills. 
• Griffey has posted 18 kills on three occasions, doing so September 7, 2018, vs. New Mexico and against Lipscomb October 27 of the same year.
• UNF is 1-2 all-time against FIU.
• O'Connell and Griffey were named to the all-tournament squad.
• O'Connell's 19 digs were just shy of her career high of 20 set in 2016.
• It was Askew's first double-double of the season and career.
• O'Connell has posted double-doubles in back-to-back contests.
• It was UNF's first five-set match of the season.

Wright's Words
"We had match point four times, but when you look at the errors [in the fifth set] they only had six kills," head coach Kristen Wright said. "We had the most errors in the fifth set, so I think getting our minds right on the right things and not getting frustrated is important. We've got some grit and pistol power, and that's what we want. You saw that with Solimar, and she played out of her mind. We have two outsides that are doing a great job. But, we have to put in the work and it only takes one match to get the right feeling and then you just have to repeat it."

Up Next
Another home non-conference match is on-deck Tuesday when UNF hosts Georgia Southern at 6 p.m.