Volleyball Closes Out Charlotte in Five

Saturday, September 9

Jacksonville, Fla.

1 P.M

University of North Florida

5-4,0-0ASUN

Charlotte

5-4,0-0AAC

Charlotte

North Florida

McKnight exploded for a career-high 22 kills to go with 12 digs.

Photo by: Logan Romine

9/9/2023 6:48:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

McKnight and Burkhardt Shatter Personal Single Game Kills Records

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - UNF volleyball repeated its route to victory from the Friday night win, outlasting Charlotte (5-4) in five frames thanks to some monstrous performances Saturday, Sept. 9. North Florida (5-4) swept its UNF Invitational, improving to 9-0 in the last three home tournaments dating back to the fall 2021 season.

UNF took home the team trophy as well as three all-tournament slots. Kailey McKnight was named tournament MVP after capping the weekend with a career-high 22 kills to go with 12 digs. Annie Antar surpassed the 50-assist plateau for the second-straight evening, earning all-tournament nods as well. Amy Burkhardt was tabbed to an all-tourney squad for the first time, coming through with a career-best 18 kills in the weekend finale.

Not lost on the day was UNF's three double-doubles, coming from Rocio Moro, McKnight and Antar. Moro achieved the exceedingly rare 30-dig and 10-assist double-double, setting a career-high mark in digs.

UNF 3, UNCC 2 (25-17, 25-18, 21-25, 20-25, 15-9)

Inside the Sets

Set 1: Burkhardt was explosive early, finishing the frame with six kills as North Florida held the lead the entire way … Antar started to disrupt the Charlotte defense with 12 assists as well as three kills, using the dump shot to keep the 49ers off balance … UNF hit .312 as a team, while tallying four aces, two of which came from Emma Pohlmann to conclude the frame.
Set 2: McKnight used a nice touch shot to go up 4-1 … Kierstyn McFall sent UNF to the media timeout up four with a kill … McKnight pushed the lead to 22-15 as North Florida held the lead wire-to-wire … the UNF offense was clicking, hitting .424 while holding Charlotte to .121 on the offensive.
Set 3: Charlotte had four-fewer kills in the third, but UNF's 11 attack errors allowed the 49ers to get one set … Burkhardt paced all competitors with five kills … down 17-20, Janelly Ceopa came up with an ace to give UNF some momentum, but Charlotte closed out the set.
Set 4: The 49ers held an advantage early in the fourth set until Mahalia White posted back-to-back kills to tie things up, 13-13 … the 49ers closed out the match with a 12-7 upperhand.
Set 5: McFall opened the set with a kill and Antar put up an ace to give UNF momentum … tied 3-3, UNF rattled off a 4-0 run to hold off Charlotte and claim another five-set win … McKnight had four kills in the fifth frame.

Leaders By the Numbers
UNF

Kailey McKnight | 22 kills, 12 digs
Amy Burkhardt | 18 kills, 3 digs, 3 blocks
Annie Antar | 55 assists, 12 digs, 6 aces
Rocio Moro | 30 digs, 10 assists
Maddie Boyd | 7 kills, 3 blocks

UNCC

Annika Thompson | 7 kills, 20 assists, 3 aces, 25 digs, 4 blocks
Sophie Whalen | 19 digs
Annika Wetterstrom | 22 assists, 9 digs

Notes

UNF is 9-0 over its last three home invitationals dating back to the fall of 2021
UNF has won each of the last three home invites it has hosted
This was UNF's first win against a current member of the AAC since defeating FAU at FAU in 2021
Rocio Moro posted her first-career double-double
It was the first match this season that UNF had three players with a double-double
UNF is 2-0 in five-set matches this season
Kailey McKnight was named Tournament MVP, while Amy Burkhardt and Annie Antar earned all-tournament team honors
Antar is the first Osprey to go for consecutive 50-plus assist performances since Julianna Askew did so March 19 and 20 against Stetson
North Florida picked up its first-ever win against Charlotte
McKnight set a career high with 22 kills, while notching her third double-double of the year
Burkhardt set a career high for kills in consecutive matches, posting 18 with .279 hitting
Antar went for her second double-double on the year, tying a career high in digs

Postgame Comments

Another day of career highs and a five-set win - hear from @CoachKWright12 after today's victory against Charlotte #OSPREYWay pic.twitter.com/8YSKB4TlJc
— UNF Volleyball (@OspreyVB) September 9, 2023