Ospreys sink Sharks in four sets

Drew McDonald, Sports Editor

Video by: Kaitlyn Bowers

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qdbD7fF76A[/embedyt]

After dropping the first set, UNF rallied to win three straight sets for the 2-1 match victory.

The Sharks had an early 5-2 lead in the first set but the Ospreys chipped away to tie it at five on a kill by Gabby O’Connell. The Ospreys were down again by three as the Sharks led, 8-5. 

After the Ospreys first timeout, the Sharks were up, 10-6. The Sharks stretched their longest lead of the set to 18-11 as LIU recorded a .389 hitting percentage and eventually won the first set, 25-14 . Schaberl put away nine kills for the Sharks and Julianna Askew recorded nine sets for the Ospreys. 

O’Connell set the tone early in the second set with a thunderous spike for the first point of the second set. The momentum shifting back and forth as each team countered with a point of their own. The Ospreys gained a 12-9 edge on a kill by Miriam Stingl. Ospreys limited LIU to a .158 hitting percentage at the LIU timeout where UNF led, 13-9. Seven attack errors by LIU allowed UNF to capitalize and extend their lead to 20-12. The Ospreys never squandered their lead and won the second set, 25-17. 

The Ospreys carried their momentum from the second set to the third where they had an early 7-3 lead where the team had a .667 attack percentage. The Sharks had to constantly play a game of catch-up. A pair of kills from Taryn Griffey distanced the Ospreys from the Sharks with a 21-16 lead. The Sharks could not overcome the Ospreys lead and lost 25-18. 

The Sharks were off to a hot start, leading 4-1 in the fourth set after a UNF attack error. The Ospreys roared back with kills from Griffey and Cestero to regain a 6-5 lead. From there on, the Sharks continued to trail the Ospreys 15-9 as UNF limited the Sharks to a nonexistent hitting percentage. The Sharks creeped back, only down 23-21 but could not execute which led to a 25-21 victory. 

O’Connell and Cestero were the leaders in team kills (12) and Askew set up a career-high 46 assists. 

The squad plays FIU on Saturday at 2 p.m.

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