The Lady Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman fell Tuesday night to the Ospreys of North Florida, breaking a three-match win streak. B-CU failed to generate very much offense on the night, tallying a season-low 16 kills for the entire team, despite making moves on defense. UNF took control from the first set, jumping out to a 10-1 lead behind the solid serving, and never looked back.
The Ospreys won in three sets, defeating the Lady Wildcats 25-11, 25-12, and 25-17. Scoring runs in each set ultimately put the Lady Wildcats away each time, as they put in several rallies to keep the scores tight in the early going.
"This game is a huge learning lesson for us in that we need to get back to basics," said Head Coach Vanessa Cogswell following the match. "That will ultimately take discipline which will result in great preparation. Great preparation equals confidence and confidence equals trust. In turn, trust equals unity and with unity the end result is a win."
Kaiyana Johnson led the Lady Wildcats offensively, collecting eight kills in the match. Daryl Rodriguez led the setters with 6 assists. Defensively, everyone got in on the action in easing the offensive letdown. Every player in the match got at least on dig, combining for a team total of 35. Leading the way, freshman Jacqueline Woodyear tallied nine digs, followed by Shanicka Reddick with five.
UNF gathered 44 total attacks as a team and were led by junior Middle Blocker Kaley Read, who notched 20 kills in the match.
"I have to give credit where credit is due," Cogswell said of tonight's match. "UNF played solid volleyball tonight and kept control of the momentum throughout the whole match. They were well-balanced offensively and defensively and we just could not seem to get in a rhythm. Their serving and passing game really kept them in a great flow."
The Lady Wildcats (7-11) return home for a big homecoming weekend, where they will take on Winston-Salem State on Friday at 7 pm, before the football team faces off with the Rams on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Wildcats faced WSSU on Oct. 9, winning in five sets.
"I know that this team will be resilient and I'm excited as we prepare to take on Winston-Salem this Friday," concluded Cogswell.