University of North Florida
14-17,7-9ASUN
No. 4 Central Arkansas
17-11,12-4ASUN
Volleyball's Sensational ASUN Championship Run Comes To A Close Against Central Arkansas
11/21/2025 10:00:00 PM | Volleyball
FORT MYERS, Fla. - North Florida volleyball closed out its sensational Atlantic Sun Conference Championship run in a five-set battle, falling to No. 4-seeded Central Arkansas, 3-2, in the ASUN Championship Semifinal on Friday.
Graduate outside hitter Janelly Ceopa led the way for North Florida in her final match as an Osprey with a team-high 12 kills. Senior opposite Mackenzie Piester and junior middle blocker Yarimar Francis Garay added 11 kills each, respectively.
UNF 3, UCA 2 (25-21, 25-23, 21-25, 17-25, 10-15)
Set 1: North Florida came out firing to a 10-1 lead largely behind two kills and two blocks from freshman opposite Kendall Newbold. UNF's advantage grew to 16-4 following an ace from senior middle blocker Kierstyn McFall. A clutch kill by Piester down the stretch helped the Ospreys earn the win.
Set 2: Francis Garay kickstarted the offense for North Florida tallying its first kill of the set on the second point. With the score tied at 10, Francis Garay and Newbold combined for a block assist to help take a one-point edge. Ceopa put down a kill amid the set to extend North Florida's lead to 15-12 and tallied another on set-point to seal the victory.
Set 3: McFall posted a kill to give the Ospreys a 7-4 lead early. Francis Garay reached seven kills on .600 hitting to go with four blocks amid the set. McFall notched another kill with the score knotted at 14, though Central Arkansas bounced back for the win.
Set 4: Newbold notched her fifth kill and Ceopa reached double-digit kills with 10 total in the set.
Set 5: The Ospreys used a 4-0 run to come within two points of UCA, though it wasn't enough to overcome their deficit.
UNF
Janelly Ceopa | 12 kills
Kailey McKnight | 19 digs
Sofia Dawson | 23 assists
UCA
Gabby Tuiaana | 18 kills
Kaylan Coons | 53 assists
Alexis McDaniel | 27 assists
NOTES
- Three Ospreys (Ceopa, Francis Garay, Piester) tallied double-digit kills.
- Redshirt freshman libero Julianna Santiago added 13 digs.
- Francis Garay tallied six blocks.
