The weekend may have started with a tough loss, but UNF bounced back to lock up a berth to the ASUN Championship.

It was another busy road trip for the Ospreys, taking on Florida Gulf Coast (FGCU) on Friday and Stetson on Saturday. The FGCU Eagles have been the frontrunners to win the ASUN, and have served as a thorn in the side of UNF.

Friday’s match got off to a rough start in Fort Myers, as FGCU outscored UNF 50-21 in the first two sets. A 25-7 blowout in the second set placed the Ospreys one set away from being swept, but they had other plans.

The Ospreys threw everything they had at the Eagles in the next two sets. A close 25-23 win in the third set gave UNF life. The comeback ultimately fell short, though, as the Eagles took the fourth set in a hard-fought 29-27 win.

UNF hasn’t lost many matches this season, but when they have, they’ve bounced back. The next challenge came north of their first match in the form of the Stetson Hatters in DeLand. 

This match was just as hard fought as the previous, but things got off to a much better start for the Ospreys. They were able to take the first two sets with identical 26-24 wins. Ironically enough, the third set ended with the same score, except this one went to the Hatters.

The Ospreys tasted a bit of their own medicine, having to fight off a furious comeback from Stetson in the middle stages of the match. The Hatters took the fourth set with a commanding 25-17 win, but could they complete the comeback? 

UNF strung together a solid fifth set, winning 15-11 to secure the match win. With this win, they also clinched a spot in the ASUN Volleyball Championship. With only four matches left in the regular season, they can divert their focus solely to these games and not have to worry about making it into the championship.

In regards to the remaining schedule, a recent mid-season addition was made. The Ospreys will travel to Tallahassee to face the Florida State Seminoles on Nov. 9. This will serve as a great opportunity for UNF to face a tough opponent before postseason play.

Despite not facing much of it, this group has responded well to adversity this season. It looks like the only thing standing in their way of a conference championship may be FGCU, a team they may face again, but with much higher stakes.

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