North Florida volleyball (7-13, 0-5 ASUN) fell 3-1 against the Kennesaw State Owls (10-4, 4-1 ASUN) at the UNF Arena on Oct.6.

Head coach Steve Loeswick touched on how the team fought throughout the match.

“We had some positives again tonight against a good team,” Loeswick said. “Kennesaw pressures you in different ways. I was really excited for how Devyn stepped up tonight and stayed aggressive and did some good things at the net.”

Freshman Devyn Wheeler had a career-high 17 kills in the matchup.

In the first set, the Owls got an early 8-4 lead over the Ospreys. North Florida responded with their own run to take the lead 11-9. During their run, the Ospreys had three kills.

Despite the momentum swing, UNF was unable to close the gap in the first set. Kennesaw State went on an 8-2 run and took the set 25-17.  

In the second set, the two teams bounced back and forth early. the set to which tied the score at 5-all. Wheeler racked up three kills early on. The Owls answered with a 9-3 run, for the 14-8 lead.

With Wheeler’s two more kills during the Ospreys’ 4-1 rally, the deficit was cut within three. North Florida attempted one last run late in the set, but couldn’t overcome the gap and fell 25-20.

In set three, the Ospreys and Owls battled with multiple runs early on. The two teams stayed tight and had six ties with a 22-22 deadlock.

North Florida closed the set on a 4-2 run with Ashley LaBorde’s service ace that sealed the set  26-24. The fourth set featured six ties early before the Owls took control and won 25-18.

Next, the Ospreys travel to Daytona Beach to face Bethune-Cookman on Oct. 10.

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