Ospreys Return Home For ASUN Opener Against Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida volleyball returns home on Friday for the first time in almost a month to battle crosstown rival Jacksonville in the River City Rumble.

Game Details
Date	Friday Sept. 22
Time	7:00 p.m.
Location	Jacksonville, Fla.
Opponents	Jacksonville
Links	Live Stats \| ESPN3 \| Game Notes

OPENING SERVE
The Ospreys battled back from down 2-0 at FAMU to force five sets on Tuesday, but were unable to come up with the victory.

NOTES

The Ospreys have had success in ASUN openers both overall and at home as they have won eight of 12 league openers since joining in 2005.
In conference home openers the Ospreys have been even better winning nine of 12 home debuts in the ASUN. In ASUN opening matches, the Ospreys own a 3-1 mark against the Dolphins.
In Tuesday's match, Katarina Raicevic had a team-best 17 kills which was one shy of matching her career-high set at home against Jacksonville last October.
Alana Shoff continues to maintain her lead in the ASUN with 68 blocks which ranks 11th in the country. Shoff also leads the ASUN with 1.28 blocks per set.
As a team, the Ospreys lead the league with 615 assists, highlighted by Madilyn McCarty's 310 helpers which puts her sixth in the ASUN.
UNF enters ASUN play also leading in blocks per set (2.36), kills (641), blocks (125.0) and attacks (1,847).

QUOTABLES

"It's going to be so nice to play at home tomorrow after playing 13 of our first 14 on the road. Our team is ready to get back in front of our fans and looking forward to having a great turnout tomorrow night. JU is always a tough match for us and it is extremely important for us to win our city and defend home court, but it's still the first match of ASUN so that is also very critical tomorrow night. " - Coach Steve Loeswick
"As a team it has been a roller coaster to start the season, but it has been a fun roller coaster and I think that going into ASUN play tomorrow it will be a wakeup call for us and will overcome our struggles and continue to grow as a team. It's an extremely chaotic environment whenever we play JU and its fun to play in front of a hyped/big crowd." – Taryn Griffey

OPPONENTS

Jacksonville enters the match coming off of a 1-2 weekend in the Dolphin Invitational where it defeated Presbyterian before falling to Austin Peay and USF.
The Dolphins are led by Mallory Mattingly with a team-high 160 kills, while adding 110 digs. Running the offense Alleah Stamatis leads the Dolphins with 332 assists which sits fourth in the ASUN on the season.

SERIES HISTORY

The Ospreys hold an 18-15 advantage over their crosstown rival Jacksonville as North Florida took both matchups last season including a five-set victory on Jacksonville's home court.

UP NEXT

North Florida stays at home on Wednesday it welcomes in Florida A&M for a 6 p.m. first serve inside UNF Arena.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Taryn Griffey

Madilyn McCarty

Katarina Raicevic

Alana Shoff

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