Volleyball Stuns Kennesaw State, 3-2

Saturday, October 22

Jacksonville, Fla.

8 p.m.

University of North Florida

8-13,6-4ASUN

Kennesaw State

15-5,8-2ASUN

Kennesaw St.

North Florida

UNF snapped KSU's six-match winning streak Saturday.

10/23/2022 1:26:00 AM | Volleyball

Box Score

Ospreys Top ASUN Frontrunner, Moro Reaches 2,000-Career Digs

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - For the second day in a row, North Florida volleyball defeated one of the top teams in the ASUN, as the Ospreys (8-13, 6-4 ASUN) outlasted the league frontrunners in Kennesaw State (15-5, 8-2 ASUN), 3-2, persevering through 27 tie scores, 17 lead changes and nearly two-and-a-half hours of action Saturday, Oct. 22.

Not to be lost in the momentous win was another milestone moment for libero Rocio Moro, as the standout defender became the first Osprey to reach 2,000-career digs.

It was UNF's second five-set contest in as many nights after the Ospreys defeated an 18-3 Jacksonville State team on Friday. The Ospreys are now 5-2 in five-set contests and 4-2 in league matches that have gone the distance.

Mahalia White was an untamable factor in the match. The outside hitter posted 26 kills, just one shy of her collegiate career high, while Kailey McKnight posted a 13-kill and 17-dig double-double. Freshman Savannah Cook posted the second double-double of her season, notching 11 digs to go with 47 assists.

UNF 3, KSU 2 (25-20, 9-25, 25-27, 25-20, 15-13)

Inside the Sets

Set 1: North Florida stood tall right out of first serve, racing ahead to a 6-0 lead … KSU slowed the Ospreys down though, getting into an offensive rhythm to eventually take a 12-11 advantage, their first of the set … UNF responded with a 4-0 run to go up 16-13 … KSU would get within one multiple times, but timely kills widened the difference in scores as UNF took the opening frame behind .303 hitting … White had five kills in the first frame, hitting .400.
Set 2: The Owls played their best volleyball of the night in the second frame, hitting .433 to even things up.
Set 3: After both teams had their ways in the previous two sets, the third set proved to be a neck-and-neck race to 25 points … after 12 tie scores, the set was tied 23-23 before KSU posted two-straight points, including an overpass kill to take the frame … to express the parody in the third set, UNF hit .243, while KSU hit .244 … Moro reached 2,000-career digs during the set.
Set 4: North Florida got the performance it needed in the fourth session, holding KSU to only 10 kills as a team, keeping the Owls at .188 hitting … White notched six kills, Cook came up with two big blocks and McKnight posted four kills and five digs … service errors from both sides marred any sort of rhythm in the middle of the set … up 21-20, UNF rattled off a 4-0 run to seal the fourth.
Set 5: In a nearly identical scenario as the match against Jacksonville State, UNF was tied 12-12 with the winning points on the line … freshman Kierstyn McFall found an opening for the go-ahead kill, while White fittingly put the match away with consecutive resounding kills.

Leaders By the Numbers
UNF

Mahalia White | 26 kills, 9 digs
Savannah Cook | 47 assists, 11 digs
Kailey McKnight | 13 kills, 17 digs
Rocio Moro | 21 digs, 7 assists
Kierstyn McFall | 5 kills, 5 blocks

KSU

Manu Johnsen | 14 kills, 10 digs
Claire Parsons | 11 kills, 4 blocks
McKinley Ferguson | 44 assists, 14 digs
Shelby Dennis | 24 digs

Notes

UNF is averaging over one five-set match per ASUN weekend this season.
It's the second time this season UNF has played two five-set matches in one weekend.
Cook posted the second double-double of her career.
It was UNF's first win against Kennesaw State since defeating the Owls, 3-1, Oct. 27, 2019.
Moro became the first UNF student-athlete in program history to reach the 2,000-dig milestone.
White finished one kill high shy of her collegiate career highwater mark of 27 set during her tenure at UC Davis.
White's 26-kill night came after she posted 25 kills against Jacksonville State, both of which set new season highs.
McKnight has now posted six double-doubles in seven contests.
UNF played over two hours and 20 minutes for the second day in a row.
UNF snapped Kennesaw State's six-match winning streak.

add another one to the WIN column??#OSPREYWay // #MAXOUT pic.twitter.com/pK2TlpNajE
— UNF Volleyball (@OspreyVB) October 23, 2022

An encore for Ro on reaching 2,000 digs tonight ?#OSPREYWay // #MAXOUT pic.twitter.com/Z7eTZvg1Jq
— UNF Volleyball (@OspreyVB) October 23, 2022

Postmatch Comments

Two days, two five-set wins - this time against Kennesaw State ?

Hear from @CoachKWright12 ??#OSPREYWay // #MAXOUT pic.twitter.com/YR81tmgeoB
— UNF Volleyball (@OspreyVB) October 23, 2022

Up Next
UNF hits the road to close out the month of October, beginning a three-match road weekend at Eastern Kentucky Friday, Oct. 28.