Volleyball | 10/19/2017 1:30:00 PM
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida volleyball opens the second part of ASUN play in the same way as the first and in the same place as the Ospreys take on Jacksonville in the River City Rumble.
OPENING SERVE
The Ospreys look to bounce back from the earlier-season meeting against the Dolphins where they fell in four-sets which included a back and forth 32-30 deciding set.
NOTES
- UNF enters Friday's matchup ranked 23rd in the NCAA in assists. In ASUN play, Carinne Turner has taken control of setting for the Ospreys offense with 144 of her 297 helpers in conference play.
- North Florida sits 28th in the country with 197.0 blocks. Alana Shoff fuels the Ospreys with a conference-leading 100 blocks while Taryn Griffey and Carina Hoff have 73 and 68 rejections, respectively.
- With four players in the top 10 in the league, the Ospreys also rank 34th in the nation in kills. Individually, the Blue and Gray hold the sixth through ninth spots in the league in kills, as Carina Hoff (237), Taryn Griffey (206), Katarina Raicevic (198), and Devyn Wheeler (193) lead the Ospreys offense.
- Ashley LaBorde sets the standard on defense with 400 digs, which leads the Ospreys to 42nd in the nation.
QUOTABLES
- "I like a lot of the aspects of our game right now and we got to make sure those stay at a high level on Friday. Jacksonville is playing really well right now and we are excited for the opportunity to get to play them again." - Coach Steve Loeswick
- "I think as a team we need to depend on blocking and defense to get the win on Friday and also our energy. I thought our energy in the last game against JU was good, but we can definitely step it up. Honestly playing JU the first time, my adrenaline was really high since that was the first time to play in a gym that was as full as it was. It was an awesome atmosphere and look forward to doing it all over again on Friday." – Callie Workman
OPPONENTS
- Jacksonville enters Friday's matchup at 12-8 following a four-set win over Stetson and a three-set loss to FGCU last weekend.
- The Dolphins are led offensively by Mallory Mattingly's 254 kills, putting her third in the ASUN. She also sits in a tie for third in the league with 3.43 kills per set while adding 202 digs on the defensive side.
- Alleah Stamatis ranks second in the conference with 671 helpers. Stamatis has a conference leading 279 assists in ASUN play.
SERIES HISTORY
- North Florida holds an 18-16 advantage with Jacksonville. Prior to falling to the Dolphins earlier this season, the Ospreys had won four of the past seven meetings in the series.
UP NEXT
- North Florida continues ASUN play next weekend when it battles FGCU and Stetson inside UNF Arena. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. on Friday against the Eagles before facing the Hatters at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
