JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—The Bellarmine volleyball team rebounded from an opening set loss to tie the host Ospreys 1-1, but North Florida prevailed in four sets in Friday's opening day of the ASUN Conference's second "crossover" weekend.
 
The Ospreys came out on fire, hitting .406 in set one and cruising to a 25-14 victory. However, the Knights responded with a 25-19 victory in the second game to square the match as UNF's hitting percentage fell to just .032.
 
North Florida, which came into Friday's match hitting a robust .257 on the season, found its stride again in set three and stayed hot to take the final two games 25-18, 25-13.
 
Bellarmine's most effective offensive player was sophomore Bailey Venard, who finished the match with 12 kills and hitting .267.  Setter Emily Arnold, meanwhile, posted a double-double with 28 assists and a team-leading 10 digs.
 
The Ospreys got 13 kills from Solimar Cestero, who hit at a .440 clip in the match. Defensively, Rocio Moro had 17 digs for UNF while Anna Butler totaled five blocks to help the hosts to a 10-5 advantage in team blocks.
 
North Florida improves to 18-3 on the year and 7-2 in league play while Bellarmine slips to 6-15, 2-7 ASUN.
 
The Knights have a relatively short turnaround as Bellarmine takes on Kennesaw State on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Owls swept Lipscomb in their match on Friday.
 
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