Volleyball | 10/5/2017 1:02:00 PM

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida volleyball returns to Jacksonville for a pair of ASUN matchups welcoming Lipscomb and Kennesaw State to UNF Arena.
 

Game Details
Date	Friday Oct. 6 | Saturday Oct. 7
Time	7 p.m. (Fri.) | 7 p.m. (Sat.)
Location	UNF Arena (Fri & Sat.)
Opponents	Lipscomb (Fri.) | Kennesaw State (Sat.)
Links	Live Stats (Fri. & Sat.) | ESPN3 (Fri.) | ESPN3 (Sat.) | Game Notes

OPENING SERVE
The Ospreys look to get back in the win column in ASUN play as they fell in conference action against NJIT and USC Upstate last weekend.
 
NOTES

• UNF enters the contests as the only ASUN team with three players ranked in the top 10 in kills. Carina Hoff paces the offense with 186 kills, Taryn Griffey has 158 and Katarina Raicevic owns 148.
• On the defensive side, Ashley LaBorde sits in second in the league with 276 digs. The junior is currently averaging 19 digs a match over her last nine games. LaBorde also sits in third in the conference with 48 digs in ASUN matches.
• Leading the ASUN in blocks, The Ospreys boast three of the top six blockers to lead the ASUN led by Alana Shoff with her league leading 83 stops. Griffey sits in third with 56 rejections and Hoff ranks sixth with 50.
• North Florida leads the conference in assists (791) with Madilyn McCarty sitting in sixth with 347 helpers.

QUOTABLES

• "We have had a solid week of practice and are excited to be back home this weekend in a place that were comfortable and know we will compete well. Another great opportunity this weekend with two quality opponents coming in that are both ranked in the mid-major top 25." - Coach Steve Loeswick
• "I feel like so far this season we have faced a lot of challenges with being on the road so much, but were comfortable with our practice this week in preparation for this weekend. We need to defend our home court against these two quality opponents." - Ashley LaBorde

 OPPONENTS

• Lipscomb enters the weekend with a 7-9 record coming off three-set win over Stetson before falling in four sets to FGCU last time out.
• The Bisons are led by Carlyle Nusbaum who has an ASUN leading 258 kills, putting her 31st in the nation. Nusbaum also ranks sixth nationally in kills per set with 4.87.
• On the defensive side, Brittany Thomas paces Lipscomb with 216 digs which is good for sixth in the conference.
• Kennesaw State comes to Jacksonville at 9-3 with a 3-0 conference mark. The Owls picked up wins last weekend in straight sets over FGCU and Stetson.
• Kristi Peidimonte paces the Owls as she has dished out 388 assists placing her fifth in the ASUN.
• Liesl Engelbrecht leads the Owls attack hitting at a blistering .357 clip putting her second in the league.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Ospreys look to flip the script against Lipscomb as they trail in the head-to-head 16-3 with the Bisons taking each of the last eight meetings from North Florida.
• On Saturday, UNF and Kennesaw State play for the 19th time with the Owls holding a slim 11-7 series advantage as they took both matches from the Ospreys last season.

UP NEXT

• North Florida heads down to Daytona Beach on Tuesday to battle Bethune-Cookman for the second time this season. The Ospreys picked up a four-set victory over the Wildcats in September as a part of the Battle In The Boro tournament.