Volleyball defeats North Dakota in dramatic five set victory

Drew McDonald, Sports Editor

 

Photo by Khorri Newton

“Resilient” is the best word to describe the Volleyball team’s effort on Monday night of Sep. 10.

When asked about the team’s energy throughout the match, Coach Wright mentioned how the team kept their composure.

“We’ve been in this position a lot this year, so I think we were comfortable and approached it differently. We stayed calm and trusted that we had what it takes and it paid off,” Coach Wright said.

In the first set, North Dakota won by a small margin of 27-25.  Sophomore Devyn Wheeler led the attack with five kills.

In the second set, North Florida came out on top, 30-28. The Ospreys tallied up 18 kills which fueled UNF to the set victory.

In the third set, North Dakota won 25-21. Sophomore Devyn Wheeler added five more kills to her stat sheet during the set.

In the fourth set, North Florida served up a 25-20 victory as the Ospreys recorded a .343 attack percentage.

In the fifth set, the Ospreys had the clutch gene and battled it out to a 15-8 win. Coach Wright addressed some standout players from the match.

Sophomore Devyn Wheeler was lights out as she hammered 21 kills throughout the match.  Redshirt-Sophomore Gabby O’Connell recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 18 kills and 15 digs.

“Devyn Wheeler was my player of the game, she had a great performance. She played out of her mind. Kayleen Herman came in and made a big shift. It was a really good combined team effort and I think that shows the depth of our team is going to keep us strong in the end,” Wright said.

The Ospreys travel south to Boca Raton for a tournament this weekend and first play San Jose State on Friday, Sept. 14 at 10 a.m.

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