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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A busy and pivotal weekend nears for North Florida volleyball Friday, September 21 through Sunday, September 23. The Ospreys play their ASUN opener against Liberty on Friday, followed by Florida Gulf Coast Saturday and South Florida on Sunday.

Volleyball alumni will be honored this weekend with Alumni Recognition Night during the match against Liberty followed by the alumni match at 12 p.m. on Saturday, at the UNF Arena.

General admission tickets are $5.00 while students with a valid Osprey1 card and infants two and under are admitted at no cost.

Schedule and Game Coverage
What: UNF hosts Liberty, FGCU, and South Florida
Where: University of North Florida - UNF Arena
When: Friday, September 21 - Sunday, September 23

Friday, Sept. 21

6:00 p.m.

North Florida vs. Liberty

Live Stats

ESPN3

Saturday, Sept. 22

6:00 p.m.

North Florida vs. FGCU

Live Stats

ESPN3

Sunday, Sept. 23

1:00 p.m.

North Florida vs. USF

Live Stats

ESPN+($)

Last Time Out

• North Florida posted a season-high .317 hitting percentage to make it 11-straight home wins against Bethune-Cookman (7-7) Tuesday, September 18 at the UNF Arena.
• The triumph gave the Ospreys (5-10) their first sweep of the season.
• Redshirt-sophomore Gabby O'Connell notched her seventh double-double of the season with 15 kills and 10 digs.
• Sophomore Callie Workman registered a career-high 20 digs.

Quadruple Option

• UNF has four players in ASUN who are in the top 11 in kills. It has three players in the top 10, the only team in the conference with such a trio.
• Junior Taryn Griffey is tied for the league-lead in kills with 184.
• Freshman Solimar Cestero (128), sophomore Devyn Wheeler (124) and O'Connell (122) round out the quartet.

Nearing 3,000

• Senior setter Madilyn McCarty moved into seventh all-time in assists at UNF this past weekend.
• After eclipsing 1,700 assists against Bethune-Cookman Tuesday via a 40-assist night, McCarty is 33 assists shy of 3,000 assists if you factor in her freshman-year statistics at Winthrop.
• She has six double-doubles this season and is second in the ASUN in assists (497).

Block Party

• UNF has notched double-digit blocks four times this season, going 2-2 in such contests
• Griffey leads the ASUN in blocks  (65), while Wheeler is tied at sixth with 51.

I'll Take the Double-Double

• O'Connell has done a little bit of everything this season. She currently leads the team with seven double-doubles.
• It's a good sign for the Ospreys when O'Connell posts at least 13 kills. When she reaches that mark UNF is 4-1. Their only loss was a marathon-match that went to New Mexico in five sets.

All Hands on Deck

• The Ospreys have a 16-player roster, eight of which are in their first season in Jacksonville.
• After freshman Grace Peterson earned her first collegiate start Friday against South Dakota State, all 16 have seen action this season.

Scouting Report
Liberty Flames | Statistics | Roster
The Basics

• Lynchburg, Va.
• Atlantic Sun (ASUN)
• 2018 Record: 3-10
• 2017 Record: 12-19, 8-8 Big South
• Head Coach: Trevor Johnson (First season)
• Head-to-head:First meeting
• Last Meeting: N/A
   
• Friday is Liberty's ASUN debut following its transition from the Big South Conference.
• The Flames' last win was a 3-0 sweep of the ACC's Virginia in Lynchburg September 11. The last time that they swept the Cavaliers was in 1979.
• Liberty is 0-3 on the road this season.
• Victoria Baptista is Liberty's most well-rounded threat, leading the team with 98 kills while posting the second-most digs (130).

Florida Gulf Coast | Statistics | Roster
The Basics

• Fort Myers, Fla.
• Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN)
• 2018 Record: 7-5
• 2017 Record: 22-10, 10-4 ASUN
• Head Coach: Matt Botsford (Fifth season)
• Head-to-head: FGCU leads the series, 20-6
• Last Meeting: UNF won at home, 3-2, Oct. 27, 2017
   
• FGCU has gone 1-1 against teams faced by UNF this season. The Eagles swept Florida Atlantic to open the season and fell to New Mexico in Albuquerque, 3-1. UNF dropped its contest with FAU in straight sets and came up just short against UNM.
• The Eagles lead the ASUN in hitting percentage (.236) and are second in blocks/set (2.46).
• FGCU was selected as the preseason favorite in the conference and return the 2017 ASUN Player of the Year, Amanda Carroll.

South Florida | Statistics | Roster
The Basics

• Tampa, Fla.
• American Athletic Conference
• 2018 Record: 10-2
• 2017 Record: 12-18, 7-13 American
• Head Coach: Courtney Draper (seventh season)
• Head-to-head: USF leads, 4-0
• Last Meeting: USF won, 3-0 at FIU August 29, 2015
   
• USF faced two opponents already seen by UNF this season. It reciprocated what UNF did against San Jose State and North Dakota by earning a pair of wins.
• The Bulls return 11 players although they tout 12 underclassmen. Among their senior leadership is redshirt-senior Clara Payne who led USF with 300 points a year ago.
• UNF and USF have only played once in Jacksonville, with the Bulls prevailing in five sets October 11, 2006.

Wright's Words
"We are excited to host an opening weekend of conference," head coach Kristen Wright said. "We feel pretty well prepared and I think that our team is starting to hit its stride. We are just going to take it match-by-match. We know our goal and we just have to stay humble and stick to our game plan."

Up Next
The first encounter between North Florida and Jacksonville in the 2018 edition of the River City Rumble is set for Tuesday, September 25 at 6 p.m. in the UNF Arena.