@OspreyVB Back on the Road, Travels to Northern Kentucky and Lipscomb

Friday, October 10

Highland Heights, Ky.

6:30 p.m.

University of North Florida

Northern Kentucky

@OspreyVB Back on the Road, Travels to Northern Kentucky and Lipscomb

10/9/2014 7:33:00 PM | Volleyball

By: North Florida Athletics

Live Stats: Northern Kentucky ll Lipscomb
Live Video: Lipscomb
Weekly Notes

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For the third-straight weekend, University of North Florida volleyball is on the road against an Atlantic Sun opponent. The Ospreys travel to Northern Kentucky for a 6:30 p.m., match on Friday at Regents Hall and then face Lipscomb on Saturday at 3 p.m., EST at Allen Arena.

"We are heading up north to two of the tougher places to play, but our team is excited with what lies ahead of us," said head coach Steve Loeswick. "We are continuing to work hard and are ready to get back on the court and compete against Northern Kentucky and Lipscomb."

Still searching for its first Atlantic Sun win, UNF comes off a very strong defensive weekend that saw the Ospreys record double-digit blocks in both matches. Behind Erin Edwards' nine blocks, the Ospreys recorded 10.0 blocks at Florida Gulf Coast to start the weekend. The next day at Stetson, Morgan Van Alstine made 10 blocks as UNF tallied 18.0 total blocks, setting a new team four-set match record. The Ospreys' 18.0 total blocks are the most in a single match this year in the Atlantic Sun and are the most for the program since rally scoring began in 2001. Meanwhile, Van Alstine, Edwards and Cameron McGuire have the top three individual blocks for a single match in the A-Sun this year. Van Alstine's 10.0 stops at Stetson are the most of any A-Sun player, while Edwards and McGuire are both in second with 9.0.

Adding to UNF's defensive weekend was libero Cari Whitmire, who averaged 5.89 digs in nine sets. Whitmire made a season-best 28 digs at Florida Gulf Coast and then tallied 25 digs at Stetson. The A-Sun's Defensive Player of the Week, she enters this weekend with three-straight matches of 20+ digs and has recorded at least one 20-or-more dig match in each of the last four weekends.

Northern Kentucky plays its first conference home match of the season and has not played at home since a 3-2 victory against Evansville on Sept. 16. The Norse have gone to four sets in each of their first three A-Sun matches and comes off a 3-1 win against USC Upstate on Saturday. A trio of Norse have over 145 total kills for the season – Jayden Julian (161), Jenna Ruble (155) and Megan Wanstrath (147). Ruble is also second in the A-Sun for hitting percentage (.305).

The series between Northern Kentucky and UNF is tied at 4-4. The series has been split 2-2 since Northern Kentucky joined the A-Sun two years ago, with each team winning on its home court.

The A-Sun's leader in kills per set (13.4) and assists per set (12.6), Lipscomb enters the weekend with a 3-0 conference mark and swept both USC Upstate and Kennesaw State last weekend. The Lady Bisons already have one home conference match under their belts with a 3-1 win over Northern Kentucky on Sept. 26. Lauren Ford leads the team with 225 kills and a 3.81 kill-per-set average, while Kayla Ostrom is averaging 10.86 assists per set.

Lipscomb leads the all-time series 9-2 and swept UNF twice last season. The Ospreys' last win against the Lady Bisons came almost two years ago as UNF posted a 3-1 victory at UNF Arena on Oct. 19, 2012.