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CHARLESTON, S.C. - The College of Charleston Cougars won the first and third set, but could not hold on to the match lead, falling to North Florida (25-20, 24-26, 25-15, 14-25, 11-15) on Saturday afternoon.
After the North Florida Ospreys opened a 4-0 lead in the fifth and final set, the Cougars rallied to tie the score at six and again at nine. However, the Ospreys were able to pull away with kills from Paige Pridgeon and Cameron McGuire and take a 15-11 set win and a 3-2 match victory.
College of Charleston (6-7) was led by 14 kills from senior Elyse Chubb and 12 from freshman Sloane White, including four in the fifth set. Senior Sarah Havel tallied three solo blocks to go with eight kills. Sophomore Madelyn McGinnis registered nine kills and tied her career high with four block assists.
North Florida (5-6) used the strong play of Pridgeon (16 kills, 11 digs) and Marija Pantovic (14 kills, eight total blocks) to pull out the five-setter. Nicole Baran contributed a team-best 19 digs.
The Cougars pulled away late in the first set during Emily Shelton's serve. Shelton landed two aces and a kill from White gave the Cougars a 22-17 lead. Kills from Chubb helped close out the 25-20 Cougar victory.
North Florida overcame a 20-16 deficit in the second game, scoring six points in a row to take a 22-20 lead. A block and a kill from Carolyn Jenkins quickly ended the game for the Ospreys after College of Charleston had tied the score at 24.
The Cougars seemed to control the match with strong play in the critical third set, jumping out to an 8-2 lead. The Ospreys pulled to within 14-12, but College of Charleston started rolling again building a 19-14 lead. McGinnis was a perfect 4-for-4 in the set, while Chubb hit six kills to give Charleston a 25-15 set win.
The momentum of the match swung back to the Ospreys in the fourth set, as the visitors from North Florida turned a 11-10 lead into an 18-11 advantage. Blocks and kills from Pantovic and Pridgeon helped spur the run that ultimately led UNF to a 25-14 set win.
The College of Charleston will conclude the Hampton Inn Invitational with a primetime match against Wyoming at approximately 7 p.m. at TD Arena.
