Box score
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Carolyn Jenkins had 19 kills to lead North Florida to a 3-1 (30-28, 25-19, 23-25, 25-15) victory over Northern Kentucky in Atlantic Sun Conference volleyball action on Saturday afternoon.
NKU (19-5, 7-4 A-Sun) was paced by
Kelly Morrissey, who had 15 kills and nine digs.
Jenna Ruble added 10 kills and four blocks on the contest.
Kylee Tarantino paced the defense with 21 digs while
Jayden Julian added 16 digs.
North Florida (14-10, 5-6 A-Sun) also got double-digit kills from Anna Budinska and Paige Pridgeon, who chipped in 11 each. The Ospreys held the Norse to a season-low .103 attack percentage on the match.
The Norse raced out to a 13-7 lead early in Set 1, punctuated by a 5-0 run which included a pair of Morrissey kills. UNF slowly chipped away until Marija Pantovic served up an 8-0 run for the Ospreys in turned the set to a 21-19 UNF lead. The teams traded points back and forth until a Budinska kill made it 28-28 and a pair of kills from Jenkins closed out the set.
NKU came out strong again in Set 2 before a 6-0 Osprey run turned a 6-3 Norse lead into a 9-6 UNF advantage. The Norse got as close as two points, but never regained the lead in the set.
Determined not to take their first straight-set loss of the season, the Norse rallied to take Set 3, 25-23. The Ospreys were held to a zero attack percentage on the set, getting 10 kills but also committing 10 attack errors.
The Ospreys found their rhythm in Set 4, though, as Danija Medina picked up four of her team-high five blocks in a 25-15 winner. UNF was able to put together three separate 4-0 runs in the set, while NKU never got into an attacking rhythm, managing just one point on serve.
The Norse return home for their final non-conference match on Tuesday, hosting in-state foe Eastern Kentucky for a 7 p.m. start.
