JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida volleyball looks ahead to one of its busiest weekends of the year when the Ospreys travel up to Kentucky for two ASUN matches, concluding the road trip down in Miami against FIU.
It's the first time since the UAB Invitational that UNF has played three single matches in three days. North Florida plays its final regular season matches outside of the Sunshine State, as well as its non-conference finale at FIU.
MATCH NOTES
SERIES HISTORY
- Eastern Kentucky: UNF is 2-0 against Eastern Kentucky ... the first time the two teams met was in a neutral site match in ... Knoxville, Tenn., back in 2015 ... the Ospreys and Colonels met in late October of last season, with UNF taking the meeting, 3-1 ... this will be the second meeting against EKU during the series' ASUN chapter ... UNF is playing at EKU for the first time in series history.
- Bellarmine: UNF and Bellarmine met for the first time Oct. 22 of last season ... UNF downed the Knights, 3-1 ... UNF played all 17 on its roster during that win against Bellarmine, getting a team-high 13 kills from Solimar Cestero.
- FIU: UNF and FIU are looking to claim a spot as the leaders in the head-to-head series history as North Florida and FIU are even at two wins apiece ... North Florida and FIU have played three of the four matches in Jacksonville ... the last time UNF took on FIU in Miami was Aug. 28, 2015 ... UNF won last year's meeting, a 3-1 win at the UNF Arena ... FIU's last win in the head-to-head series was Sept. 14, 2019, with the Panthers outlasting the Ospreys in a wild match that saw some eye popping numbers from both sides ... Solimar Cestero and Rocio Moro competed in that match.
SCOUTING REPORT
- Eastern Kentucky: EKU heads into the weekend with a 12-12 record and 3-7 mark in league play ... the Colonels have run into a little rough patch as of late, dropping the last four decisions ... EKU's last win came in a 3-2 victory against Liberty Oct. 8 ... EKU has since then lost to Bellarmine twice, Kennesaw State and Jacksonville State in five frames ... setter Chloe Mason, a transfer from Indiana State, reached 2,000-career assists last weekend ... EKU is leading the league in digs ... head coach Johnna Bazzani is in her fourth season leading EKU.
- Bellarmine: The Knights are 10-12 and 4-6 in league play during head coach Rick Nold's first year leading the Knights ... Nold is a veteran to the game, having coached for over 20 years as a head coach between stops at Jacksonville State and Auburn ... Bellarmine is coming off consecutive wins against Eastern Kentucky ... the Knights were paced by Bailey Venard's 20 kills in their last victory.
- FIU: The Panthers are 6-16 and 3-6 in C-USA play under first-year head coach Cristina Robinson ... FIU is 2-3 at home and coming off a 3-1 win in San Antonio Texas Oct. 23 ... FIU will take on local rival, FAU, Friday, Oct. 28 ... Athina Dimitriadis and Emily Meyer have posted the biggest numbers this season, both of which are logging far over 3.00 points/set ... the Panthers' have relied on setters Sarah Nading and Camila De La Rosa.
AN OSPREY WIN WOULD...
- Eastern Kentucky: Make UNF 3-0 against Eastern Kentucky ... give the Ospreys their first win in their first try on the road against Eastern Kentucky ... bring UNF to three-straight Friday night victories.
- Bellarmine: Make UNF 2-0 all-time against Bellarmine ... give UNF a win in its first try against the Knights ... make UNF 2-1 in Saturday ASUN matches.
- FIU: Make UNF 3-2 all-time against FIU ... bring the Ospreys to a 3-9 record against non-conference teams this season ... give UNF a win in its final non-conference match of the season.
MORO'S REACHES 2,000
Libero
Rocio Moro achieved one of the memorable milestones in her UNF career after becoming the program career-digs record holder during Friday Oct. 14's win at Queens ... after tallying over 50 digs last weekend, Moro became the first Osprey in program history to reach 2,000 digs for her career. She currently paces the league in digs and picked up her eighth-career ASUN Defensive Player of the Week award this past week, adding to her conference record.
ENDURING OSPREYS
UNF's resilience and endurance has been critical in bringing UNF to a 6-4 mark in league play ... North Florida is 5-2 on the season in five-set matches and 4-2 in conference play in contests that have gone the distance ... North Florida won a pair of five-set matches last weekend, knocking off Jacksonville State and Kennesaw State in five frames ... UNF has also earned five-set wins against North Alabama and FGCU, both of which were reverse sweeps.
3 FOR ONE
For the first time in six years, North Florida volleyball took home three ASUN weekly honors on the same day. Ironically, UNF earned three awards on the exact same day in 2016, doing so Oct. 24. This time around,
Mahalia White was named Player of the Week,
Rocio Moro was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week and
Savannah Cook was named Freshman of the Week.
STEADY SOLI
Solimar Cestero is knocking on the door of some longevity honors in the Navy and Gray. Cestero has 1,214 kills, good for seventh in UNF history. Her 3,395 attacks are the fifth-most all-time. At 482 sets played, Cestero is second all-time in UNF history in that category. She is also one block shy of 200 and eight matches shy of reaching the UNF record for matches played.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Kailey McKnight's play in the month of October has been a big reason why UNF has posted a 5-2 mark during the month ... the outside hitter has tallied six double-doubles in seven matches during the month, setting season highs with 18 kills and 17 digs, while averaging 2.66 kills/set and 2.97 digs/set during that span.
