Schedule | Roster | Statistics (2018) | @OspreyVB
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The North Florida Ospreys volleyball squad will take part in their second tournament in as many weekends when it heads to the Rocky Top Invitational Friday, August 31.
The two-day tournament features Indiana State, host Tennessee and Winthrop.
Schedule and Game Coverage
What: Rocky Top Invitational
Where: University of Tennessee (All matches played at the Thompson-Boling Arena)
When: Friday, Aug. 31 - Saturday, Sept. 1 (all times EST)
Friday, Aug. 31
Saturday, Sept. 1
A New Era
After taking over as the Director of Volleyball in December of 2017, UNF head coach Kristen Wright helped propel the Ospreys to its most wins in conference play during the beach volleyball season, something the California native will hope to replicate in her first season of Division I indoor competition.
Stiff Competition
The Ospreys have seen strong opposition and will continue with that trend this weekend, having already faced formerly-ranked No. 15 Colorado and Wyoming, who received 36 votes in the past week's AVCA Coaches Poll. Host Tennessee received five votes in the most recent poll after bumping Michigan State out of their No. 22 spot with a 3-1 defeat of the Spartans Friday, August 24.
"My staff and I intentionally scheduled tough," head coach
Kristen Wright said. "We have a young team and to be the best you have to play the best and beat the best."
Leading With Youth
North Florida's 16-player squad features eight returners and eight newcomers, including two transfers with previous experience at the collegiate level. Five newcomers have already made their first collegiate appearance this past weekend, seeing a combined five starts.
- UNF has a young roster, featuring 12 underclassmen.
"Our goal is to improve from last weekend and the things that we've been working on in practice," Wright said. "We are still moving people around for a lot of different reasons to find what is eventually going to be our starting lineup. It's early and we want to test things out early. What I want to see is us gel and come together this weekend, create some chemistry and come closer."
A Familiar Face
Senior setter Madilyn McCarty has been a consistent cog to the Osprey attack, generating 1310 assists over the past two years and change, although as a freshman McCarty had a standout year with the Winthrop Eagles.
- In 2015, McCarty posted a Big South best 1,229 assists, ranking fourth among all freshman in the NCAA with 10.59 per contest. Like UNF's Gabby O'Connell, the Springfield, Ill. native earned five all-conference freshman of the week laurels to go along with All-Big South Honorable Mention and All-Freshman selections.
Standing Tall at 7,200 Feet
Junior middle blocker
Taryn Griffey collected 40 kills, a .395 hitting percentage and 11 blocks in UNF's season-opening Rumble in the Rockies tournament at the University of Wyoming. After capping the weekend off with a career best 17 kills, the Wildwood, Mo. native was selected to the all-tournament team at middle blocker.
She's Back
The Ospreys will be excited to have redshirt-sophomore
Gabby O'Connell back on the court after missing all of the 2017 campaign with a medical redshirt ushered on by a preseason injury. The Gainesville, Fla. native reeled in an ASUN-record five freshman of the week accolades, the ASUN Freshman of the Year award and ASUN All-Conference Second Team laurels in 2016.
Solid Solimar
Freshman outside hitter
Solimar Cestero started in all three games this past weekend, collecting 25 kills and seven blocks in her first competitive experience in the states. The Toa Baja, Puerto Rico native was just two digs shy of a double-double against Oral Roberts, connecting for 15 kills. Cestero is one of two Ospreys from P.R. as she is joined by freshman
Charyari Ramos.
Under New Direction
The Rocky Top Invitational features three coaches in their first season coaching their respective programs. UT brought in Eve Rackham in January of this year after serving for five seasons as an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina. Winthrop's Chuck Rey arrived in Rock Hill, S.C. after his own five-year stint as an associate head coach at Miami University (Ohio). Indiana State's Lindsay Allman's most recent stop was as an assistant coach/interim head coach at Wake Forest before taking over the reigns at ISU in February of 2017.
Scouting Report
Indiana State Sycamores |
Statistics |
Roster
The Basics
- Terre Haute, Ind.
- Missouri Valley Conference
- 2017 Record: 11-21, 8-1 (MVC)
- MVC Preseason Ranking: Sixth
- Head Coach: Lindsay Allman (Second Season)
- Head-to-head: 0-0
- UNF's weekend-opening match against the Sycamores will be the inaugural head-to-head matchup between the two squads.
- ISU comes into play 2-1, dropping Atlantic Sun foe Liberty (3-1), Purdue Fort Wayne (3-0), before being clipped by Oakland in five sets last weekend.
- Head coach Lindsay Allman is in her second season with ISU, having led her program to its best finish in league play since 2014.
Tennessee Lady Vols |
Statistics |
Roster
The Basics
- Knoxville, Tenn.
- Southeastern Conference
- 2017 Record: 12-15, 5-13 (SEC)
- SEC Preseason Ranking: 10th
- Head Coach: Eve Rackham (First Season)
- Head-to-head: 0-1
- This is the second meeting between these two programs. Tennessee took the first encounter, 3-1, at the Dish Tennessee Volleyball Classic in Knoxville Sept. 5, 2012.
- UT is riding a strong 3-0 start to their season, having taken down No. 22 Michigan State (3-1), Belmont (3-0) and Chattanooga (3-0) at the Tennessee Classic.
- The Lady Vols match UNF with a 16-player roster. They return 3+1 starters, welcoming six newcomers.
Winthrop Eagles |
Statistics |
Roster
The Basics
- Rock Hill, S.C.
- Big South Conference
- 2017 Record: 18-14, 8-8 (Big South)
- Big South Preseason Ranking: Fifth
- Head Coach: Chuck Rey (First Season)
- Head-to-head: 1-1
- UNF takes on Winthrop for the third time, with the last meeting going to the Ospreys in a 3-0 rout on the road Sept. 15, 2012.
- Rey's squad returns 11 players from the 2017 roster, including junior setting Siani Yamaguchi who earned a spot on the Big South Conference All-Tournament Team a year ago.
- Winthrop struggled in their season-opening tournament at Georgia Tech, going 0-4 with losses to Abilene Christian, Georgia Tech, Idaho State and Georgetown.
What's Next?
Looking ahead, the Ospreys move from tournament play for a single match at Georgia Southern Tuesday, Sept. 4. Following that they'll welcome Furman, New Mexico and USC Upstate to the UNF Arena for the UNF Invitational Presented by Courtyard Marriott Mayo Clinic Sept. 7-8.
