The women’s volleyball team was 2-11 on the season before it played Florida A&M University Sept. 25, and its record didn’t improve after the game.

The Ospreys hosted FAMU in the UNF Arena, looking to improve its game — and its record — but it didn’t turn out that way. The Rattlers, which were 1-10 on the season before the game, defeated the Ospreys, three sets to one. Sophomore outside hitter Paige Pridgeon, with 15 kills and 15 digs, and senior outside hitter Jessica Catelano who had 15 kills and eight digs in the match led the game.

UNF took the first set of the match 25-22. However, FAMU won the next three, 25-18, 25-23, 25-16. Although the Ospreys lost, it went back and forth with 23 tied scores and 12 lead changes in the match. The Ospreys, now 2-12 on the season, have been struggling all season long to improve their record and show off their young talent.

Head coach Kevin Campbell altered the starting lineup against the Rattlers, but the same result occurred in the form of a loss.

“We had a lot of attacking errors,” Campbell said. “We had serving errors and attacking errors, so, we had 34 points that we gave them.”

The Ospreys’ defense allowed a total of 54 kills but marked 62 digs in the match.

“Put math into play, and we can’t win a match when we give an opponent 34 points,” Campbell said.

Most people agree the most successful teams have a strong resilient defense, and that is what the Ospreys are missing. UNF’s offense was efficient, producing 50 kills in the match, but it was not enough when the opponent produces 54 kills.

The Ospreys did not crumble like they have in the past with the young team, but the execution was absent, Campbell said.

“Chemistry was good and everybody is playing at a high level, it’s just execution now,” Campbell said. “This is a match we should win, but we can’t do that when we are playing against ourselves.”

Because the Ospreys are a young, inexperienced team, this season could be thought of as a building block for the next few seasons to come.

“I feel like this kind of can be a background for the future so we can get better toward the conference games, and we’re a young team,” sophomore middle blocker Dagnija Medina said. “I feel like we have to be more consistent in our play.”

The Ospreys’ conference play starts Oct. 1 against Stetson in the UNF Arena.

Conference play decides how well the team is playing. Earlier in the season, the Ospreys played nonconference games against high-caliber teams such as Virginia and George Washington, to help prepare them for their conference games.

There is no definite answer, yet, as to why the women’s volleyball team cannot generate enough momentum to win matches, except that the team is young. There have been changes to the lineup and other minor details to try to help build that momentum, but nothing seems to be working.

“We changed some girls in their positions,” Catelano said. “We’re just trying everything and being a team.”

Although they are having a tough season, they are building for the future and sticking together as a team, Catelano said.

The Ospreys take on conference rivals at home against Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast Oct. 1 and Oct. 2, respectively.