JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - It's crunch time in conference play with just four matches remaining and ASUN Championship berths on the line. UNF hosts Jacksonville for Senior Night and the second of two meetings in the River City Rumble Friday, while Liberty comes to town Sunday for a 1 p.m. first serve.
UNF stands in sixth place in the conference standings, percentage points ahead of seventh-place Jacksonville. Liberty comes into play third in the league at 9-4.
1. Last Time Out
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Conference tournament berths are on the line and the River City Rumble is set for Friday, but not to be lost in the shuffle was UNF's 3-1 win against Bethune-Cookman (7-20) Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Sophomore
Solimar Cestero set the UNF (13-15) four-set match record for kills with 30, eclipsing 500 for her young career. Rookie and fellow Puerto Rican
Rocio Moro also surpassed a milestone, notching 15 digs to give her 513.
Cestero's mark broke her 29-kill performance Oct. 11 at Stetson of this season. That mark was tied with Wendy Ballut's total against North Dakota State in 1995. Becky De Jong put up 36 kills in five sets against Barry in 1996, giving Cestero the record for the rally scoring era.
2. Series History
UNF leads the all-time series, 21-17 ... The Ospreys are 12-5 when hosting JU ... UNF has won three straight and is 3-2 over its last five against Jacksonville ... The last time the Dolphins won at the UNF Arena was Oct. 20, 2017 ... The first meeting on UNF's campus was September 1, 1998 ... UNF and JU first clashed Oct. 25, 1991 ... The longest-winning streak for either side during the course of the all-time series was UNF's six-match run from Nov. 12, 2010 to Nov. 15, 2012 ... UNF won the first meeting this season, 3-2, Oct. 13 … This is the fifth meeting between the two teams and the fourth time they've met as ASUN foes ... Liberty took the last meeting, 3-0, Sept. 29 in Lynchburg ... UNF is 0-1 against the Flames in Jacksonville .. UNF and Liberty met in neutral site competition Sept. 4, 2010, in Charlottesville, Va.
3. Nationally Renowned
UNF continues to find its freshman at the top of the statistical charts in the ASUN and in NCAA Division I ... Freshman setter
Julianna Askew came into the week ranked fifth in assists and 10th in service aces, while rookie libero
Rocio Moro is 13th in digs and 40th in digs/set ... Askew became the first UNF freshman to notch 1,000 assists since 2011.
4. Recognizing Greatness
UNF volleyball will add another alumni to the North Florida Athletics Hall of Fame in Paige Pridgeon Saturday … Pridgeon became the third player in program history to tally 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs after an illustrious four-year career in the Navy and Gray … North Florida honors four-year letterwinner in middle blocker
Taryn Griffey prior to the match ... The Wildwood, Mo., native has posted 935 kills, a .294 hitting percentage, 31 aces, 139 digs and 292 blocks during her time in Jacksonville ... The 6-2 senior is tied for the UNF DI record for solo blocks (48), and this season she is hitting .327 with 18 matches of at least 10 kills ... The 6-2 senior has been selected to four all-tournament teams, has seen herself on the ASUN Honor Roll three times, was named to the 2017 ASUN All-Academic Team and in January of 2019 was UNF's recipient of the ASUN Winners for Life Award. She is also a two-year letterwinner on the beach, tallying 18 wins.
5. Scouting Report
The Dolphins are seventh in the ASUN and percentage points behind UNF with a 5-8 record in league competition ... JU is on a two-match winning streak after sweeping UNF and NJIT last weekend ... Jacksonville is 4-8 in road matches ... The Dolphins have committed the most attack errors and second-most service errors in the league this year ... JU's biggest offensive threats are outside hitters Malloy Mattingly and Lexi Wierzbicki ... The duo has a combined 613 kills ... Freshman middle Sydney Bolding leads the conference in hitting percentage and is fifth in blocks with 80 … The Flames are third in the ASUN at 9-4 and 16-9 overall ... After a 3-2 win against North Alabama Sunday Liberty clinched a berth in the ASUN Championship for the second time in as many years ... Amelia Johnson posted 29 kills Sunday, tied for the most by a Lady Flames player in the 25-point rally-scoring era ... The Flames tallied 12 aces Sunday ... Johnson paces the conference in kills with 365 ... MB Kailey Macy leads the league in blocks/set (1.22).
