JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida volleyball dropped its season opener to Georgia Southern, 3-1, as hosts of the 2025 North Florida Sunshine Tournament at UNF Arena on Friday night.

"It was a really tight battle, and I thought that we got to see a lot of exposure to tough moments," North Florida volleyball head coach Kristen Wright said. "I saw a lot of good things, and we want to be battle-tested early on. Obviously, the score is not what we wanted or the outcome. But we saw a lot of good things to build on tonight and we're excited for tomorrow to play against a great team in Florida State and to be in our home gym."

North Florida built initial momentum with a dominant performance in set one to take it 25-17, before Georgia Southern responded with three-straight back-and-forth set wins.
 
Junior outside hitter Kaili Doctor and senior opposite hitter Mackenzie Piester both posted double-digit kills and combined for 23 to lead North Florida. Freshman setter Sofia Dawson dished out 26 assists in her collegiate debut.

Senior libero/defensive specialist Maymie Guthrie, junior libero/defensive specialist Emma Pohlmann and freshman setter Sofia Dawson all registered double-digit digs.

UNF 1, GSU 3 (25-17, 22-25, 17-25, 23-25)
Set 1: North Florida used a 4-0 run to take a 6-3 lead with a pair of kills coming from senior opposite hitter Mackenzie Piester. The Ospreys later used a 7-1 run capped off by an ace from graduate outside hitter Janelly Ceopa. North Florida out-blocked Georgia Southern 4-1.
Set 2: The Ospreys posted 45 attacks and 12 kills, but Georgia Southern's 13 kills and four aces were too much to overcome. The set featured a .085 hitting by Georgia Southern and .159 hitting by North Florida.
Set 3: Georgia Southern built off its momentum from set two, posting 15 kills at a .273 clip while registering two aces. 
Set 4: The fourth set was the most contested, with North Florida battling back from a 10-point deficit to only drop the set by two points. The Ospreys notched 13 kills to Georgia Southern's nine.

LEADERS BY THE NUMBERS
UNF
Kaili Doctor | 13 kills
Sofia Dawson | 24 assists
Sofia Dawson, Maymie Guthrie | 14 digs

GSU
Reagan Barth | 21 kills
Kirsten Barrett | 41 assists
Maddie Cugino | 21 digs

NOTES

• Four freshmen – Dawson, Kendall Newbold, Leah McDonald and Katelyn Bowman – made their collegiate debut for North Florida.
• Piester surpassed 500 career attacks with 32 and now stands at 501.
• North Florida tallied three aces in the first set to earn the 25-17 set win.
• Guthrie eclipsed 600 career digs with 14 digs and now has 605.
• Doctor posted 13 kills and is now 11 kills away from 500 in her career.
• Senior middle blocker Kierstyn McFall is now one kill away from 600 in her career after posting five against Georgia Southern.

UP NEXT
North Florida battles Florida State at the North Florida Sunshine Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 30, with first serve set for 6 p.m., at UNF Arena.