As The UNF volleyball team left the Appalachian State Invitational Sept. 5 after winning two matches and falling to William and Mary University in their final match.

“We had a great tournament and will continue to work hard and grow as a team,” UNF Head Coach Kevin Campbell said.

Taking the first set wasn’t enough for UNF as William and Mary took the next three sets for a 3-1 win. Leading in the opening set with a score of 25-20, junior middle blocker Kaley Read and senior outside hitter Agata Dawidowicz added kills to the set. But William and Mary controlled the rest of the game with seven- to 10-point leads on the next three sets.

Win over host Appalachian State

UNF came out of their match against tournament host Appalachian State with a 3-1 win. UNF improved their record against Appalachian State to 2-0 adding on to a 3-0 win during the 2006 season.

The match started off to UNF’s advantage as they closed the first set with a 25-20 lead, despite Appalachian State’s early lead at the beginning of the set. The Mountaineers came back to win the second set, but they couldn’t hold the Ospreys for long.

Appalachian State made a run for the lead during the third set, but UNF held them off and took the set 25-21, which secured them a 2-1 lead in the match.

During the fourth set, UNF held a match point off of a kill from Lerch, but Appalachian State responded with a point to tie the set and force the extra point. The team battled back and forth with numerous rallies and for nine ties throughout the match. Finally an error by Appalachian State gave the Ospreys a match point, and they secured the match.

“This win was a team effort, and we were able to play a lot of our players, which made the difference,” Campbell said.

Close call between Tennessee Tech

UNF came out with a close score against Tennessee Tech winning the match 3-2. UNF and Tennessee Tech exchanged points in the opening set and were tied at 13 before UNF pulled away with a 3-0 run capped by an ace from Read. Tennessee Tech won the next two sets by 27-25 and 25-23, respectively.

Historically, Tennessee Tech is a good, strong team, said Campbell. Once they have an advantage they hold on to it, she said. But the Ospreys persisted through the next two sets.

Individual notoriety

UNF took their largest lead in the fourth set, going up early off a kill by senior outside hitter Naellis Sanfeliz. Then the Ospreys controlled the fifth set with three kills from Dawidowicz and won the set 15-7.

Two UNF players earned awards for their play in the tournament. Read and junior outside hitter Danielle Lerch were awarded All-Tournament team honors, as they put up big numbers in their matches, said Campbell.

UNF will now travel to Nashville to compete in a pair of Atlantic Sun Conference games Sept. 11 and Sept. 12 against Lipscomb and Belmont University.