By Zach Morgan

The UNF volleyball team (8-12, 2-4 Atlantic Sun) wasn’t able to pull out a win during its road trip Oct. 7-8. The team faced off against USC-Upstate (6-11. 2-3 A-Sun) and East Tennessee State University (8-11. 2-3 A-Sun).

In response to the team losing three straight matches, junior libero Nicole Baran said the team needs to stay prepared in order to make the playoffs.

The team traveled to Spartanburg, S.C. Oct. 7 to play USC-Upstate. The Ospreys fought hard, but were no match for the home team as they lost 3 sets to 0, (20-25, 23-25, 22-25). Outside Hitter Paige Pridgeon led the way for the Ospreys, recording her 10th double-double of the season with 12 kills and 10 digs. Baran finished the game with 18 digs while Anna Budinska provided 16 digs.

The last game of the trip was the most grueling as UNF traveled to Johnson City, Tenn. Oct. 8 and played ETSU. Having played two road games, fatigue set in on the team. The Ospreys held their own, but they did not have enough energy to pull out the win. They lost to the Buccaneers 3 sets to 1 (23-25, 25-16, 14-25, 28-30). Early in the first set, Pridgeon recorded her 1,000 career kill, making her only the 9th player in UNF program history to reach that feat.

“Obviously it’s awesome, but I’m not going to let it blow out my ego,” Pridgeon said of her accomplishment. “I’m just going to keep working hard for my team. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

The Ospreys need to turn things around in time for the A-Sun playoffs Nov. 17-19.

Schedule:
Friday 10/14/11 – VS Belmont
Saturday 10/15/11 – VS Lipscomb
Tuesday 10/18/11 – @Bethune-Cookman