Volleyball Topped at KSU in ASUN Opener

Friday, September 27

Kennesaw, Ga.

7 p.m.

University of North Florida

6-9, 0-1

Kennesaw State

9-5, 2-0

North Florida

Kennesaw State

Stingl led UNF with nine kills and .353 hitting.

9/27/2019 8:33:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

O'Connell Notches 800th Career Dig in Loss

KENNESAW, Ga. - UNF (6-9, 0-1 ASUN) fell in straight sets in its 2019 ASUN opener at Kennesaw State (9-5, 2-0) Friday night at the KSU Convocation Center. The Owls were propelled by momentum of winning a come-from-behind first set, taking the second and third sets with efficient hitting.

Redshirt-junior Gabby O'Connell notched another career milestone in the loss, surpassing 800 career digs just eight days after she eclipsed 900 career kills.

KSU 3, UNF 0 (21-25, 15-25, 21-25)

Inside the Sets

Set 1: UNF established a three-point lead on two occasions, but KSU eventually battled back to take a 13-12 lead … A quick 3-0 run gave UNF the lead at the first media timeout … The next 3-0 swing went to KSU, with the Owls evening it at 17-17 after UNF's 17-14 lead, forcing the Ospreys to take a timeout … UNF reclaimed a 21-19 lead, but KSU turned in a 6-0 run to take the opening set … O'Connell posted five kills and five digs in the first set.
Set 2: KSU raced out to a 6-3 lead and didn't look back … There was just one lead change in the second set … KSU led by as much as 10 … KSU hit .452 in the second set, committing only one error.
Set 3: The Owls took the early lead, creating as much as a 6-3 advantage … UNF crawled back in, going on a 5-1 run to take an 11-10 upper hand … But, KSU won eight of the next 10 points and never relinquished its lead ... The Ospreys got within two at 20-18, although KSU got another late run, benefiting from four UNF attack errors.

Leaders By the Numbers

UNF

Gabby O'Connell | Eight kills, eight digs
Miriam Stingl | Nine kills, .353 hitting percentage
Julianna Askew | 21 assists, six digs
Rocio Moro | 13 digs

Kennesaw State

Lexi Broadwater | 33 assists
Quin Sutphin | 12 kills, .500 hitting percentage, four blocks
Karlee Groover and Shelby Dennis | 14 digs

Notes

It was Griffey's 100th match as an Osprey.
This was meeting 23 between the two teams.
It was the 12th meeting between the two teams in Kennesaw.
Grace Peterson got the start for UNF.
Moro continued her streak to 15 matches with at least 10 digs.
North Florida is 4-8 at Kennesaw.
The Owls posted two aces in each set.
It was UNF's first match of the season without a player in double-digit kills.
UNF was held to a season-low two blocks.

Wright's Words
"Credit to Keith and KSU tonight, they executed better than us," head coach Kristen Wright. "They won the serve and pass game and we had a pretty solid game plan and played with a drive up until 20 points into the first set, and then I can't pinpoint what happened down the stretch. We had a few uncharacteristic performances in a few spots, but I was proud of Mimi and her play."

Up Next
UNF continues ASUN play this weekend in Lynchburg, Va., against Liberty at 1 p.m.