The University of North Florida volleyball team fell in straight sets at the Swisher Gymnasium against Jacksonville on Oct. 2, 2025.
Reigning Atlantic Sun (ASUN) freshman of the week, opposite hitter Kendall Newbold, once again had a strong performance, leading the Osprey offense with 10 kills. With the loss, UNF falls to 1-2 in conference play, while JU maintains its unbeaten in-conference record at 3-0.
Set 1
The game began relatively even, with the Dolphins maintaining a small advantage thanks to kills from outside hitters Madison Novak and Breanna McDonagh. Carrying an 11-7 lead, Jacksonville quickly put together a 4-0 run to extend its lead to 15-7 thanks in part to attack errors from the Ospreys’ senior opposite hitter Mackenzie Piester and junior outside hitter Kaili Doctor.
UNF didn’t give in. Eventually, they were able to battle back to take a 20-19 lead, through a 5-0 run that included two aces from Newbold and a kill from freshman setter Sofia Dawson that was set up with a nice play from graduate outside hitter Kailey McKnight.
Unfortunately, the Ospreys were unable to maintain the momentum. The Dolphins responded with a 6-0 run to crush North Florida’s hopes of taking the first set, ending on a well-placed blocking wall formed by setter Bella Dearinger and middle blocker Haley Yount on an attempted kill by McKnight.
Set 2
UNF got off to a quick start in the second set, building a 4-1 lead on the back of kills from McKnight and junior middle blocker Yarimar Francis Garay, as well as an ace from freshman outside hitter Leah McDonald.
The Ospreys continued to build on their lead, extending it to six points to take a 16-10 lead. During this stretch, the connection between the two freshmen, Newbold and Dawson, proved difficult for JU to stop. Doctor and McKnight added a kill and a block, respectively, to continue to mount pressure on the JU defense.
From here, the Dolphins battled back to tie the game at 20 points apiece with a 10-4 run. JU followed this up with a 5-1 run immediately afterwards to take the set in convincing fashion, 21-25.
Set 3
Similar to the first set, the third set began as an even affair. The Ospreys built a modest 3-2 lead before JU rattled off a 4-0 run with two aces from libero Kristina Nika and two more kills from McDonagh. The Ospreys battled back to a 6-6 tie through a kill from Piester and an ace from junior libero Emma Pohlmann before the Dolphins responded, reestablishing a 10-7 lead through kills from setter Jade Cuya Cabos and outside hitter Claire Mrukowski.
The Dolphins maintained this lead throughout the rest of the set, defeating UNF 19-25 and securing the match. Dawson registered a match-high 22 assists over the course of the evening, while senior libero Maymie Guthrie led all players with 11 digs.
Up Next
The Ospreys return home to take on Central Arkansas at UNF Arena on Saturday, Oct. 4.. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will also stream on ESPN+
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