Volleyball Edged Out in Five-Set Battle With Stetson

Friday, March 19

Jacksonville, Fla.

7 p.m.

University of North Florida

8-9,7-4ASUN

Stetson

6-6,5-6ASUN

Stetson

North Florida

3/19/2021 10:54:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Five Ospreys Post Double-Digit Kills, Four Double-Digit Digs

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - UNF Volleyball (8-9, 7-4 ASUN) put up 22 more kills than visiting Stetson (6-6, 5-6 ASUN), but the Hatters managed to score at the right time as the Ospreys dropped a five-set battle Friday, March 19 from the UNF Arena.

Due to the result from tonight's match and FGCU's win at Jacksonville, UNF will host Stetson in the ASUN Quarterfinals March 27.

North Florida put up a number of notable statistics in the loss. Five players posted double-digit kills for the first time in a match since October 30, 2012. Four players also finished with double-digit digs for the first time since November 17, 2019, at North Alabama.

Bre Walp put up a season-high 18 kills on .368 hitting, Maddie Boyd tallied a career-best 12 kills on .476 hitting and Gabby O'Connell put up the 37th double-double of her career.

O'Connell played in her 100th career match Friday, ending the match with 999 career digs.

Stetson 3, UNF 2 (22-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-15, 12-15)
Inside the Sets

Set 1: The first session set the tone with 15 tie scores and five lead changes … North Florida had four more kills than Stetson but two more errors and one fewer block … the Hatters closed the set on a 4-1 run to seal the frame.
Set 2: UNF erupted for a .412 hitting percentage, Gabby O'Connell had six kills and the Ospreys added a block and an ace to even the match up at one apiece.
Set 3: Up 15-9 at the media timeout, the tide began to turn for Stetson's favor as the Hatters got back into the set … Stetson aces down the stretch and a .140 UNF hitting percentage allowed the Hatters to overturn the Ospreys early lead and go up, 2-1.
Set 4: The Ospreys couldn't ask for a better set offensively, using a .452 hitting percentage to overwhelm Stetson … the Hatters were held to .030 hitting and just seven kills … Kailey McKnight put up five kills and Bre Walp had four … UNF tallied four blocks while Stetson didn't have any.
Set 5: North Florida made a late push but it couldn't cancel out Stetson's 5-0 run to start the deciding set as Stetson won in five … the Hatters didn't commit a single attack error in the fifth frame.

Leaders By the Numbers
Stetson

Annabelle Standish | 15 kills
Alexis Thompson | 11 kills, 2 blocks
Chelcie Spence | 3 aces

UNF

O'Connell | 17 kills, 17 digs
Walp | 18 kills, 3 blocks
Cestero | 13 kills, 11 digs
Boyd | 12 kills, 4 blocks
McKnight | 12 kills, 8 digs

Notes

UNF had eight blocks to Stetson's five.
Kailey McKnight put up her third double-digit kill day.
It was Solimar Cestero's first double-double of the year and fifth all-time.
Moro is 23 digs short of 1,000 for her career.
Askew put up a season-high 63 assists.
It was Askew's 15th career double-double.

Wright's Words
"For starters, it was a typical barn burner. I thought we were a step slower defensively in the first set which disrupted our fluidity offensively. In set two I felt like we had control and scored really well with balance. The third set we let them chisel away with a lead and put us on our heels going into set four. We were great in every regard in set four but in set five we didn't play our best when our best was needed. A match decided by three points. We'll be back for the fight tomorrow and I'm sure of that." -- Head Coach Kristen Wright

Up Next
UNF will host Stetson again tomorrow at 7 p.m.