JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida volleyball was on brand for its fall 2021 season, picking up performances all across the board to earn a pair of 3-1 wins Friday, Sept. 17 from the UNF Arena on day one of the Sunshine Tourney.
The Ospreys (10-1) defeated MTSU and FIU to improve to 5-0 at home on the year.
UNF 3, MTSU 1 (24-26, 25-13, 25-14, 25-20)
The first set saw 16 tie scores before MTSU took it, although North Florida stormed back to overwhelm the Blue Raiders with a strong attack and block to sweep the next three.
Gabby O'Connell posted a season-high 18 kills on .361 hitting, and
Dariana Hollingsworth-Santana added her fifth double-double of the season.
Bre Walp led the block, getting in the way of seven attacks.
Inside the Sets
- Set 1: The first set was a battle, lasting 33 minutes … no team possessed more than a three-point margin … tied 24-24, a UNF service error was followed by an MTSU kill as the Blue Raiders took the lead.
- Set 2: Set two was looking like what was seen in the opening frame, although a key run in the middle of the set created a 14-9 advantage for the Ospreys … UNF closed things out on an 11-4 run … O'Connell hit .429 in a four-kill frame … Walp posted three blocks.
- Set 3: UNF's scorching .545 hitting percentage was accompanied by three blocks as the Ospreys ran away with things … Maddie Boyd posted four kills on .600 hitting, while O'Connell tallied five.
- Set 4: There were four tie scores but no lead changes as UNF nearly led wire-to-wire … the Ospreys kept MTSU to .036 hitting … O'Connell went off for six kills and Hollingsworth-Santana notched four.
Leaders By the Numbers
MTSU
- Emma Grever | 11 kills
- Taylor Eisert | 29 assists
- Samira Lawson Body | 2 aces
- Marley Banton | 14 digs
- Thee with two blocks
UNF
- O'Connell | 18 kills, .361 hitting, 3 aces
- Annie Antar | 25 assists, .439 set percentage
- Hollingsworth-Santana | 15 digs
- Walp | 7 blocks
Wright's Words
"I think they [the Blue Raiders] made us work for it. I liked sets two and three on our part, and I could do without sets one and four. I think we scored too many points from the other team, but all for good reasons. We're really putting an emphasis on speeding up the middle and the right. Our offensive proficiency on the outside really has cleaned up.
Gabby O'Connell had18 kills in three sets, and D [Dariana] kept doing what she's been doing. I thought we did a nice job as a team."
UNF 3, FIU 1 (25-14, 22-25, 25-18, 25-22)
The Ospreys claimed a double-digit block night, three players reached double figures for kills and UNF held FIU to .130 hitting in the nightcap win.
Inside the Sets
- Set 1: Tied 12-12, the Ospreys took complete control of the frame with a 12-0 run, cruising to a one-set lead … North Florida hit. 370 while keeping FIU to -.065 hitting … Anna Butler and Boyd tallied three kills apiece.
- Set 2: The most hotly contested session of the match went to the Panthers, evening things up … FIU and UNF saw 11 tie scores and seven lead changes … FIU had two more kills and two fewer set errors to tip the scales.
- Set 3: North Florida earned its points with an offensive onslaught in the third … 18 kills on .366 hitting spearheaded the UNF third … Hollingsworth-Santana collected six kills and Boyd hit .600 … Antar collected 12 assists.
- Set 4: FIU led early, looking to create a fifth set … down 15-10, UNF used a 7-1 run to key a comeback … North Florida edged the Panthers in hitting percentage, aces, digs and blocks.
Leaders By the Numbers
FIU
- Giada Bianchi | 16 kills
- Valeria Santos | 3 aces, 19 digs
- Fiorella Murillo | 5 blocks
UNF
Notes
- It was the first-ever meeting between UNF and MTSU.
- Both opponents were C-USA foes.
- UNF is 5-0 at home.
Wright's Words
"First of all, shoutout to Osprey Nation for showing up and packing the nest. We want to see you here tomorrow night. The key was, we were resilient. A lot of the issues in our second set, we knew were on our side of the court. So, we knew it was within our control. Offensively, we just had a few miscues and we were a little unbalanced. In the third set we responded. We had 18 kills and hit over .500. We checked our 5-1 with our freshman
Annie Antar, and she did an outstanding job. Then we bounced back to finish in a 6-2, which was with Julianna and Solimar at the time, who had this unstattable fire. It was a really good team effort. I thought our outsides did a nice job all day today."
Up Next
UNF concludes the weekend with a 5 p.m. first serve against Seton Hall tomorrow.
