JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida volleyball plays in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) for the first time when it goes up against the winner of Troy and MTSU in the second round of the NIVC Saturday, Dec. 4 at 2 p.m. EST. UNF advanced past the first round after UNC Greensboro had to withdrawal due to COVID-19 within the program.

The NIVC follows a single-elimination format and features 31 teams. UNF, Troy, UNCG and MTSU round out the regional hosted by Troy.
 

UNF vs. Troy or MTSU | NIVC Second Round | Troy, Ala.
Match 32: vs. Troy/MTSU	Saturday, Dec. 4 at 2 p.m. EST
Series History	UNF leads MTSU, 1-0 | UNF leads Troy, 4-0
Social Media / Coverage	@OspreyVB | #SWOOPLife | @UNFOspreys

Series History
Troy: UNF is 4-0 against Troy and 2-0 in road matches.
MTSU: North Florida won 3-1 against MTSU Sept. 17 of this year, the only meeting between UNF and the Blue Raiders.

Scouting Report
Troy: Troy is 17-12 and 9-7 in the Sun Belt ... the Trojans defeated Virginia Tech and went 1-1 against Georgia State this year, shared opponents with UNF ... Julia Brooks was a First Team All-Sun Belt honoree ... Amara Anderson was named to the second team.
MTSU: MTSU was 9-11 and 6-6 in C-USA play ... MTSU was knocked out of the C-USA Tourney by Rice in the semis ... Marley Barton was named C-USA Libero of the Year.

First Serve
>> UNF is making its first-ever appearance in the NIVC and first appearance in postseason play outside of the ASUN Championship as a Division I program.
>> The Ospreys are 24-7, reaching the program's most wins in a season during UNF's Division I days
>> The Ospreys reached the ASUN Championship Semifinals, doing so for consecutive seasons for the first time in UNF history
>> UNF has a No. 74 RPI as of November 21.
>> North Florida reached No. 49 in the NCAA RPI this season, its highest in program history.

AN OSPREY WIN WOULD...

• Give the Ospreys their first postseason win outside of an ASUN Championship victory as a Division I program. 
• Mark 25 wins on the season, its most as a Division I program.

ASUN POSTSEASON AWARDS
UNF had three different student-athletes earn ASUN Volleyball Postseason honors.

-Rocio Moro (Defensive Player of the Year and All-ASUN First Team)
-Dariana Hollingsworth-Santana (All-ASUN First Team)
-Annie Antar (ASUN All-Freshmen Team)

Moro is the first player in UNF history to be named ASUN Defensive Player of the Year in consecutive seasons. She is also the second in ASUN history to take home the award in consecutive years. She is a two-time All-ASUN First Team selection as well, the only in program history.

Dariana Hollingsworth-Santana took home All-ASUN First Team honors to join Moro on the squad, helping UNF post two on the first team in the same season for the first time since the 2012 campaign. 

Annie Antar is the 10th Osprey in UNF's tenure in the ASUN to be named to the all-freshmen team. Antar posted 400 of her assists during UNF wins and joins teammates Solimar Cestero, Rocio Moro, Julianna Askew and Gabby O'Connell as Ospreys who have been named to the ASUN All-Freshmen squad. 

"UN"STUCK IN NEUTRAL
North Florida is a perfect 7-0 when playing neutral site contests.

UNF has defeated Wofford, Stony Brook, Houston Baptist, Louisiana Tech, North Alabama, Lipscomb and Central Arkansas in neutral site contests this season.

UNF is hitting .247 while holding foes to .169 hitting in neutral site games. Dariana Hollingsworth-Santana leads the way with 3.81 kills/set in those contests.

CoSIDA Academic All-District
Gabby O'Connell was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 4 First Team last week, earning the honor for the second consecutive season. She is the only student-athlete in UNF DI history to be named to the honor.

SEASONS COME & GO, BUT I'll NEVER CHANGE
Graduate student Gabby O'Connell has achieved a myriad of "firsts" in her storied career at UNF. The outside hitter became the UNF Division I era record holder for most matches played as well as the program record-holder for most sets played in. O'Connell has played in 498 sets, the 69th most among active NCAA Volleyball players. She also has played in 134 matches, fifth most in UNF history.

She is just one of three Ospreys to ever reach at least 1,000 kills, 1,000 digs, 100 aces, 100 blocks and 100 assists.

O'Connell ranks fourth in UNF history for kills (1,422) and second in program history for total attacks (4,158)

Her play on the attack isn't the only thing recognized by the record books. O'Connell is the all-time leader for service attempts (1,779). 

O'Connell has 42 double-doubles and her 1,307 digs ranks 87th among active NCAA Division I volleyball players.