ORLANDO - After a marathon first set and a narrow decision in the second session, North Florida volleyball (1-3) eventually dropped the weekend opener to Kansas State (5-0), 3-0, as the Ospreys began their two-match stay in Orlando for the UCF Challenge.
Set one saw seven tie scores before the Wildcats won, 30-28, despite a roaring hot start from UNF. The Ospreys held a 24-20 lead before Kansas State came back to tie things up and push the set well past the required mark. A similar theme ensued in the second frame, with KSU winning, 25-22. The third set was the shortest of the day, with the match concluding just under two hours despite running just three frames.
Mahalia White continued to produce, notching 10 kills, marking her fourth double-digit kill performance of the year. Setter
Jenna Zimmermann posted a double-double for the first time in her young UNF career, while
Savannah Cook made her UNF debut and
Solimar Cestero saw time for the first match in 2022.
UNF 0, K-State 3 (28-30, 22-25, 15-25)
Inside the Sets
- Set 1: Back-to-back kills brought UNF to a 20-16 lead in the first set … K-State would go on a 3-1 run, forcing a UNF timeout … out of the break, Kailey McKnight and Kierstyn McFall notched kills and KSU committed a pair of errors … a few UNF errors and a K-State kill gave the Wildcats new life as they eventually went on to win … UNF hit .341 in the opening frame, while holding Kansas State to .178.
- Set 2: UNF jumped out to the lead once again, reaching a 6-2 advantage … KSU would tie things up at 7-7 before the Ospreys churned out a 5-0 run … the tide turned after a Kansas State timeout though, as the Wildcats went on a 7-3 run, tying the set up at 15 … one more Kansas State push late in the frame brought the Wildcats to a 21-17 lead … UNF nearly pulled off what the Wildcats did in the first set … down 23-18, three-straight kills and a Zimmermann ace got UNF within 23-22, but KSU would close it out thanks to a kill and an ace.
- Set 3: UNF had just one less kill than the Wildcats in the third frame, but it was KSU's work at the service line that made the difference … the Wildcats went for five aces in the set … UNF posted 26 digs, with 11 coming from Rocio Moro in the set alone.
Leaders By the Numbers
UNF
K-STATE
- Elena Baka | 14 kills, 14 digs, 4 aces
- Mackenzie Morris | 11 digs
- Sydney Bolding | 5 kills, 4 blocks
Post-Match Comments
Notes
- It was the second-ever meeting between UNF and K-State.
- Three of UNF's first four matches have been against Power Five teams.
- Jenna Zimmermann notched her first double-double as an Osprey. She posted nine digs in the first set.
- Savannah Cook made her UNF debut in the third set.
- Solimar Cestero made her season debut, marking her fifth year of competition in the Navy and Gray.
- Mahalia White has reached double-digit kills in each of the four matches this season.
- Kailey McKnight was one dig shy of her career high
Up Next
UNF continues the UCF Challenge against Syracuse tomorrow at 2 p.m.
