NASHVILLE, Tenn. - North Florida volleyball's ninth-straight appearance in the ASUN Championship concluded against long-time rival FGCU as the Ospreys (12-17, 9-7 ASUN) bowed out of the postseason in the quarterfinals Thursday, Nov. 17.
The Ospreys finished the season with a winning record for the third-straight year in league play, a UNF DI-era record.
Solimar Cestero played the final game of her illustrious UNF career, finishing with 141 matches played, a program record she set Thursday. The outside hitter concluded her career with one more match played than Valerie Martinez who was the previous UNF record holder in that category.
White finished the season with 393 kills, the most by an Osprey since
Solimar Cestero's 424 in 2019. North Florida has made 12 ASUN appearances including five-straight under head coach
Kristen Wright.
UNF 0, FGCU 3 (18-25, 20-25, 20-25)
Inside the Sets
- Set 1: FGCU got out to an early lead and had the advantage, 15-10, at the media timeout … after a a pair of Cestero kills and a White ace helped UNF got within three, forcing an FGCU timeout at 16-13 … the Eagles went on a 4-1 run out of the timeout … the Eagles eventually held off the Ospreys late as a four-point differential on the service line helped create the difference.
- Set 2: North Florida hit a match-high .273, getting 15 kills as a team, the most for either side in a frame, but FGCU's three aces and four more attack errors by the Ospreys created a deficit UNF couldn't overcome.
- Set 3: Down 5-3, Cestero posted a resounding kill before McFall added her own to tie things up, 5-5 … UNF rattled off a 4-0 run to go up 7-5 … UNF was without an attack error early as the set was even, 11-11 … FGCU got the lead back at 12-11 and held it the rest of the way.
Leaders By the Numbers
UNF
FGCU
- Lily Felts | 11 kills, 6 digs
- Chesley Lockey | 30 assists, 7 digs
- Juliana Lentz | 5 blocks, 7 kills
Notes
- Cestero set the UNF program record for matches played with 141
- This was the fourth-ever meeting between the two teams in ASUN postseason play
- UNF and FGCU have played each other in ASUN postseason play in consecutive seasons
- Jenna Zimmermann made her first start since September.
- McFall ended the season with 105 blocks, the most by a UNF freshman in UNF's DI era for a single season
- UNF had just two fewer kills, but six more attack errors than the opponents
- The match saw 11 tie scores and six lead changes
Postgame Comments
