Home Season Begins For @OspreyVB With Two-Day Jax Marriott Volleyball Classic

Weekly Notes
Tournament Central
Live Stats
Live Video

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – University of North Florida volleyball's first home matches of the season take place this weekend with the Jax Marriott Volleyball Classic held at UNF Arena on Friday and Saturday. The Ospreys play two matches on both days.

"We are excited to open up our home schedule with some very good teams this weekend," said head coach Steve Loeswick. "We're also thrilled to be able to play in front of our fans again. They create such an amazing atmosphere that makes playing at UNF Arena a lot of fun. It should be a great weekend that will give us an opportunity to continue to grow as a team."

UNF begins the weekend against Florida Atlantic (2 p.m.) and Georgia State (7 p.m.) on Friday. The weekend concludes with Coastal Carolina (10 a.m.) and Bethune-Cookman (6 p.m.) on Saturday.

The Ospreys search for their first win after facing a challenging field at last weekend's Duke Invitational. However, under Loeswick's guidance, UNF has compiled a 4-1 record in its last two home-opening weekends.

Last weekend, Morgan Van Alstine was named All-Tournament at the Duke Invitational after hitting .395 and totaling 22 kills in three matches. Freshman Courtney Miller had an impressive debut during the first day of the Duke Invitational, totaling 19 kills during Day One. She led the Ospreys with nine kills against then-No. 21 Duke and was one of two Ospreys with double-digit kills against Furman.

Florida Atlantic goes on its first road trip of the season after hosting last weekend's FAU Invitational. The Owls won the FAU Invitational, clinching the tournament with a win over Stetson. The Owls return eight of the 12 players that saw time in last season's exhilarating five-set match.

Florida Atlantic leads the all-time series 6-2 and won last year's meeting 3-2 (21-25, 25-22,-25-22, 20-25, 12-15) on Sept. 6, 2013 at UNF Arena, which was also UNF's home opener.

Under new head coach Sally Polhamus, Georgia State is back on the road after a mid-week home match against Western Carolina. Deidra Bohannon enters the weekend averaging 3.79 kills per set and has made 146 of the team's 482 kills (30.3 percent).

Georgia State is up 2-0 in the all-time series and won the last meeting 3-1 on Aug. 28. 2010 at the Panthers' own tournament.

Coastal Carolina, who is the second of four Big South teams that appears on UNF's 2014 schedule, comes off a 1-2 weekend at UNC Wilmington's tournament. Leah Hardeman was named Big South Freshman of the Week after averaging 3.92 kills per set in 13 sets. Jenna Orner, who played with Cari Whitmire during their freshman year at Jacksonville, averaged 5.08 digs per set.

Coastal Carolina won the only meeting in program history, taking a 3-2 decision on Sept. 16, 2006. UNF assistant coach Tara Sunquist played in that match, notching 34 digs.

Saturday is the first of two meetings between UNF and Bethune-Cookman this season. The Wildcats began the season at the FAU Invitational. This is Bethune-Cookman's final early season tournament to take place in Florida. The Wildcats final two tournaments are in New Mexico and Maryland.

UNF has a commanding 15-1 leads in the all-time series with the Wildcats and swept the last meeting 3-0 at Bethune-Cookman on Oct. 15, 2013.

Tickets for all matches held at UNF are $5 adult day pass and $3 day pass for youth 17-under, senior citizens, military and UNF faculty and staff with proper ID. A two-day pass is also available for $8 adults and $5 for youth 17-under, senior citizens, military and UNF faculty and staff members with proper ID. Admission for UNF students is free with a valid Osprey1 Card.

Prices and tickets are only valid for matches held at UNF Arena. For more information, contact the UNF Athletics Ticket Office by phone at (904) 620-BIRD (2473) or email at Ospreytickets@unf.edu or by clicking the ticket link on www.UNFOspreys.com.

Home Season Begins For @OspreyVB With Two-Day Jax Marriott Volleyball Classic

Next Event

Footer