Aces High in Volleyball’s 3-1 Win Against Jacksonville

Friday, March 12

Jacksonville, Fla.

7 p.m.

University of North Florida

7-8,6-3ASUN

Jacksonville

2-10,0-8ASUN

Jacksonville

North Florida

3/12/2021 10:39:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Walp Hits .571, O’Connell Tallies 15 Kills and Ospreys Total 11 Aces

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida volleyball (7-8, 6-3 ASUN) dropped in 11 aces, Bre Walp hit .571 and Gabby O'Connell led the way with 15 kills as the Ospreys defeated Jacksonville 3-1 Friday, March 12.

UNF's 11 aces are its most in a match since Nov. 5, 2019 in a 3-1 win at Bethune-Cookman. Julianna Askew surpassed 1,800 assists for her career and Walp tallied a season-high for kills.

North Florida is on a seven-game winning streak against its crosstown rival. Head coach Kristen Wright is also 7-0 all-time against Jacksonville. The Ospreys also picked up a River City Rumble Barrel Point with the win.

UNF 3, Jacksonville 1 (25-20, 17-25, 25-17, 25-18)
Inside the Sets

Set 1: Teams traded the lead early before UNF went on a 3-0 run to break a 7-7 tie … JU evened things up before two Rocio Moro aces and a JU bad set created UNF's 15-12 lead … Walp and O'Connell both chipped in three kills and UNF tallied four aces to close out the set.
Set 2: The stat line was relatively even for both teams, but 10 UNF attack errors to only JU's four gave Jacksonville the second set … UNF hit -.061 while JU hit .207.
Set 3: A big momentum swing rested on the result of set three, and UNF grabbed it … the session saw 18 tie scores and nine lead changes … tied 25-25, JU's Sydney Bolding committed and attack error and Walp finished off the frame with a nicely placed kill.
Set 4: JU rebounded to take a 13-9 advantage … Kailey McKnight entered, provided a kill and started UNF's 3-0 run to tie things at 13 … Julianna Askew tallied three kills down the stretch to add to a strong fourth set from O'Connell, giving UNF the win.

Leaders By the Numbers
JU

Autumn DeSantis | 14 kills
Gyrani Rogers | 15 digs
Barbora Romancova | 5 blocks

UNF

Walp | 14 kills, .571 hitting percentage
O'Connell | 15 kills, eight digs, four aces (season high for aces)
Rocio Moro | 22 digs, two aces
Julianna Askew | 41 assists, 7 kills

Notes

It was Walp's fourth double-digit kill performance of the year.
Walp's .571 hitting percentage is a career high.
Both teams tallied 13 service errors.
UNF had six more aces than the Dolphins.
JU outblocked UNF, 8-3

Wright's Words
"It was good to be challenged in our home gym. I thought JU served really well, especially in the second set when they got us out of system. We had to grind it out, but Bre Walp had a spectacular night. I thought Julianna Askew did a nice job on the attack as the setter, while distributing well. Gabby O'Connell played a nice well-rounded match. We did a lot of nice things and had people in and out today, which is great for our depth. We have to come back, reset and use this as an opportunity to get better." - Head coach Kristen Wright

Up Next
UNF hosts JU again tomorrow night at 7 p.m.