BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - North Florida volleyball took on the tournament hosts in UAB Saturday as the two teams traded runs in each of the first two sets, but the Blazers had more life late as the Ospreys came up short in three sets at UAB (4-4) Sept. 10.
Despite the outcome, both teams held a lead at a number of points. There were 18 tie scores and seven lead changes throughout the three sets.
Mahalia White eclipsed 100 kills through just seven matches in the early stages of her UNF (1-6) tenure.
Mackenzie Piester had a strong showing in her second start, posting six kills on .308 hitting while adding two aces, four digs and leading the team in service receptions.
UNF 0, UAB 3 (18-25, 20-25, 14-25)
Inside the Sets
- Set 1: Savannah Cook's first-career service ace gave UNF its first lead, a 4-3 advantage … a 4-0 UNF run finished with a Piester ace as UNF assumed a 7-4 advantage …the trading of runs would soon began as UNF led 9-6, but UAB went on a 6-0 run to regain the lead … UNF answered with another run, a 3-0 clip to even things at 14-14 … White and Maddie Boyd went back-to-back on blocks to force the tie … UAB turned in a crucial 5-0 run to create a 19-14 lead, forcing a UNF timeout … White got a kill out of the break to interrupt UAB's stride … late UAB offense allowed the Blazers to hold on for a 25-18 first-set win … North Florida and UAB combined to post seven aces … the Ospreys hit .269, while UAB hit .467. … UNF had three blocks to UAB's zero in the first frame.
- Set 2: Jenna Zimmermann executed her second dump shot kill of the night to give UNF a 3-2 lead … UAB won a challenge to take what would have been a 4-2 UNF lead and bring it to 3-3 … UAB took its first advantage of the session, 7-6, after a number of tie scores … UAB turned in a 4-0 run for a 9-6 lead before another 4-0 spurt established a 14-9 upperhand … Kierstyn McFall came out of the UNF timeout with a kill to slow UAB down … Boyd got hot on the attack and on the block to get UNF within one at 16-15 … a UAB attack error allowed UNF to tie it, although the Blazers' Chloe Rodriguez posted a kill to take the lead back … a pair of attack errors followed, enabling UAB to go up, 19-16 … after a UNF timeout, Piester provided a much-needed kill to stop UAB's 4-0 clip … down 23-18, Mya Sopata and Mahalia White came up with kills to get within two … a service error and attack error allowed UAB to close out the set.
- Set 3: UNF trailed 2-0, but a service error by UAB, Kierstyn McFall's block and a White kill gave UNF the lead … White brought UNF the lead once again, this time with an ace, putting the Ospreys up, 6-5 … that was the final lead held by UNF as UAB took the frame thanks to 13 kills and just three errors.
Leaders By the Numbers
UNF
UAB
- Fernanda Maida | 16 kills, .469 hitting percentage
- Erin Powers | 19 digs, 2 aces
- Lidya Canturk | 37 assists, 2 aces
- Jay Collins | 3 blocks
Post-Match Comments
Notes
- It was Piester's second-career start
- It was UNF's second-ever meeting with UAB
- White posted a solid three-kill first set, although that mark was her lowest in the first session through seven matches after tallying 44 through the first six.
- UNF sent 13 Ospreys on to the court, while UAB used just eight different student-athletes
- Cook tied a season high with six assists.
- UNF had five blocks to UAB's three.
- The Ospreys had two fewer service errors, but UAB's .380 hitting percentage stood as the major difference maker.
- Boyd tied a season high with four blocks. She has at least one block in every match
Up Next
UNF completes the weekend tournament against Auburn tomorrow at 1 p.m. EST.
