Volleyball Opens Home Slate with Best Western Osprey Invite

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida volleyball opens its home campaign in the Best Western Osprey Invite where it takes on Nicholls State, Mercer and FIU on Friday and Saturday. Beginning at noon on Friday, UNF plays the Colonels followed by the Bears at 7 p.m. FIU follows on Saturday at 4 p.m.

NEED TO KNOW
- Head coach Steve Loeswick is 33-18 at home during his five-year tenure and 13-6 at UNF Arena in non-conference play.
- North Florida ranks second in the nation in total kills with 432 - Butler has the first spot with 446.
- The Ospreys are also third in assists (397) and fourth in total blocks (77) in their first eight games.
- Unlike last weekend where UNF faced all new opponents, the Ospreys are facing familiar foes this weekend.

Series tied at 1-1 with Nicholls State
UNF leads 12-7 vs. Mercer
UNF leads 1-0 vs. FIU

BLOCK PARTY
Senior Morgan Van Alstine is ninth in the nation in total blocks with 38, while ranking sixth in block assists with 35.

ODDS IN OUR FAVOR
UNF leads in every single category against the tournament field. As a team they own 432 kills, while the next closest is Nicholls State who has 291.

NOTHING MORE THAN SERVE AND RECEIVE
Sophomore libero Ashley LaBorde has taken her game to a new level and is ranked nationally in two categories: digs (9th) and aces (14th). She leads the team in both categories with 14 aces and 144 digs.

ROOKIES MAKING MOVES
Freshman Gabby O'Connell is ninth in the nation across freshman with 92 kills. She was most recently named ASUN Freshman of the Week after an outstanding performance at the Houston Baptist Barcelona Labor Day Classic.

OUT-HIT AND WIN
The Ospreys are 4-0 when they hit above .200 and out-hit their opponents.

SCOUTING NICHOLLS STATE
Hot off a 3-0 win Tuesday against Southern, the Colonels are looking to continue their three-game winning streak. Junior Stephanie Tobison, who was the teams starting libero last season, is now leading the team as an outside hitter with 57 kills. Junior defensive specialist Alexa Perry is cleaning up the backrow with 97 digs and guarding the net is middle hitter Emily Weimer with 28 blocks.

SCOUTING MERCER
The Bears (3-3) are coming off a 2-1 weekend in Nashville, Tenn., defeating Georgia State (3-0) and William & Mary (3-1) and falling to Belmont (3-2). Morgan MacGilvary tops the team with 65 total kills, while Paige Alsten is a threat at the net with 30 total blocks. Hannah Noon runs the offense with 118 total assists, while Claire Waliczek helps out with 91. On the defensive side, Tori Penrod has dug up a team-high 126

SCOUTING FIU
The Panthers are coming off a 1-2 weekend in Mobile, Ala., falling to Florida A&M and South Alabama, but winning their last match against Southeastern Louisiana. FIU is led by senior Katie Hogan, who leads in nearly all categories: kills (56), points (72.0), attacks (172), service aces (41) and is second in digs (41) and blocks (12). Junior Taija Thomas continues to be an offensive force as well, leading the team with a .309 hitting percentage.

LOOKING AHEAD
UNF heads to Statesboro, Georgia to take on Georgia Southern in a mid-week match up before going to Coastal Carolina on Friday, Sept. 16. The Ospreys play Georgia Tech on Friday before facing off with Coastal Carolina on Saturday.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ashley LaBorde

Gabby O'Connell

Morgan Van Alstine

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