JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — A block-heavy performance by the Ospreys was enough to hold off the Royals in ASUN action on Saturday night, as North Florida defeated Queens by a score of 3-0 (12-25, 15-25, 11-25).
North Florida used the efforts of Kailey McKnight on the attack and Kierstyn McFall on the block to pace the Ospreys in their first set victory. Queens (3-14, 0-5 ASUN) was steadily led by kills from Victoria Wood and Alleigh Johnson to keep their squad within reach, but would eventually succumb to a heightened North Florida offense consisting of only one error and 17 kills.
In the second set, Queens struck first forcing an Osprey error to make it 1-0. Two Royals errors followed by a kill from Anna Butler gave North Florida (10-10, 3-3 ASUN) the small 3-1 lead. Soon after, A. Johnson and Kayla McDuffie fought their way back with a kill each and Tilley Collins put up a service ace to give the Royals their first lead of the day, 4-3.
North Florida started swinging in response as a trio of Ospreys (Amy Burkhardt, McFall, Butler) led their team on a 7-0 run to take a quick 10-4 lead. Despite miscommunication on the floor on North Florida's side of the net at the end of the frame, their squad held on to the 25-15 victory.
In the third, North Florida jumped to a 3-0 lead out of the gate from a double block from Maddie Boyd and Kyla Solis and a kill each from Solis and Annie Antar. Ellis Sargent swung her way to her first kill of the night to get the Royals on the board, but North Florida jumped right back with a kill from Boyd to make the score 4-1. The set went through a back-and-forth affair before the Ospreys went on a run, including a triple block, to get ahead of the set by 10. The Ospreys lead held through to the final point, as their team finished with a score of 25-11.
A. Johnson and Jordyn Johnson led the way for the Royals with six kills apiece, while McDuffie contributed five of her own. McDuffie led with a .214 hitting percentage on the night. Kendall Buish put up 21 assists to lead the match while Jesse George added six digs.
North Florida's McFall finished with five blocks on the night while Butler and Boyd each put up a pair. McKnight finished with nine kills en route to the match victory. The Ospreys' .398 hitting percentage marks their second-best on the season behind their .413 performance against Texas Southern on Sep. 8.
Up next, the Royals jump right back into action as they take on the Owls of Kennesaw State on Oct. 10 for a 6:30 PM first serve in Georgia.
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