2022 Volleyball Season in Review
12/28/2022 3:00:00 PM | Volleyball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida volleyball's latest season in program history featured individual and team records as the Ospreys navigated through one of the most unique campaigns in the program's existence.
The Ospreys finished the season with their ninth-straight appearance in the ASUN Championship, posting their third-straight winning season in league play, good for a program record.Â
Roll With the Punches
With the renovations of the UNF Arena as the CSI Companies Court was being constructed alongside a myriad of other improvements in the arena, North Florida held practices and games in multiple locations.Â
The Ospreys held preseason practices at JJVA in Jacksonville before transitioning to the UNF Fieldhouse. North Florida played 12 road games and a record 15 neutral site contests, playing six matches at Jacksonville University's Swisher Gymnasium. UNF hosted its first official home match on the new CSI Companies Court Nov. 6 as the Ospreys went 2-0 on the newly constructed court.Â
North Florida fared well in neutral site games at Swisher Gymnasium, defeating three of the league's top teams in FGCU, Jacksonville State and Kennesaw State. All of those victories came in dramatic fashion, with UNF defeating each opponent in five frames.Â
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ASUN Success
UNF finished the season with a 9-7 mark in conference play, North Florida's third-straight winning mark in conference competition. That stretch had not been done before in UNF's ASUN tenure as head coach Kristen Wright finished the year 43-39 against league foes between regular season and postseason play.
The Ospreys have posted a 29-15 mark in league play over the last three seasons, helping the Ospreys to their 12th ASUN Championship appearance and ninth straight as a program. UNF finished seventh in the 14-team league, which was arguably the deepest the league has been since the inception of the ASUN.
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Conference Accolades
UNF secured weekly and postseason ASUN honors, setting records in both areas. Rocio Moro, Mahlia White, Savannah Cook and Kierstyn McFall all earned postseason honors, with Moro setting a new standard in the league with three-straight ASUN Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Moro has been named ASUN Defensive Player of the Year in the Spring of 2021, Fall of 2021 and Fall of 2022, marking the first time any ASUN volleyball student-athlete has completed that feat.Â
During the regular season, Moro added another ASUN first to her bio, picking up ASUN Defensive Player of the Week honor No. 8, 9 and 10, setting a conference record.
White joined Moro on the league all-conference squad, being named to the second team after posting 393 kills. She paced the league in kills/set and points/set, surpassing 1,000-career kills in the process.
Cook and McFall were freshmen standouts, earning a spot on the league all-freshman squad, bringing UNF to two on the team for the first time since Julianna Askew and Moro were named back in 2019. McFall set the UNF freshman single season blocks record for the program's Division I era in the process.
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Big on the Block
Maddie Boyd and McFall combined to be two of the best middle blockers in the league, combining for over 200 blocks on the season. Boyd surpassed 200 blocks during the season, while McFall posted a block in all but one match en route to all-freshman honors.
Boyd's numbers were extremely balanced, with the junior finishing the season in the top ten in hitting percentage, block assists, total blocks and blocks/set. Her offense was just as valuable to the Ospreys as she hit .324, putting her first in career hitting percentage for UNF's DI era.
McFall's numbers almost mirrored Boyd's, with the freshman tallying 105 blocks and 125 kills over 29 matches. She was a mainstay in the North Florida lineup, playing in all but four sets on the season.
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Cestero Seals Up a Spectacular Career
UNF great Solimar Cestero put a bow on her phenomenal collegiate career in 2022, finishing up a tenure that began during head coach Kristen Wright's first season back in 2018. Cestero's final game in the Navy and Gray put her at 141 total matches, the most by a UNF volleyball student-athlete in the program's history.
Just a few matches prior, Cestero also tallied the UNF sets played record. The outside hitter finished her career in the top ten in UNF's history in kills (1,261), attacks (3,608) and points (1,434). She will go down as the current UNF rally-scoring era kills record holder after posting 30 in 2019.
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Notes
The Ospreys finished the season with their ninth-straight appearance in the ASUN Championship, posting their third-straight winning season in league play, good for a program record.Â
Roll With the Punches
With the renovations of the UNF Arena as the CSI Companies Court was being constructed alongside a myriad of other improvements in the arena, North Florida held practices and games in multiple locations.Â
The Ospreys held preseason practices at JJVA in Jacksonville before transitioning to the UNF Fieldhouse. North Florida played 12 road games and a record 15 neutral site contests, playing six matches at Jacksonville University's Swisher Gymnasium. UNF hosted its first official home match on the new CSI Companies Court Nov. 6 as the Ospreys went 2-0 on the newly constructed court.Â
North Florida fared well in neutral site games at Swisher Gymnasium, defeating three of the league's top teams in FGCU, Jacksonville State and Kennesaw State. All of those victories came in dramatic fashion, with UNF defeating each opponent in five frames.Â
Â
ASUN Success
UNF finished the season with a 9-7 mark in conference play, North Florida's third-straight winning mark in conference competition. That stretch had not been done before in UNF's ASUN tenure as head coach Kristen Wright finished the year 43-39 against league foes between regular season and postseason play.
The Ospreys have posted a 29-15 mark in league play over the last three seasons, helping the Ospreys to their 12th ASUN Championship appearance and ninth straight as a program. UNF finished seventh in the 14-team league, which was arguably the deepest the league has been since the inception of the ASUN.
Â
Conference Accolades
UNF secured weekly and postseason ASUN honors, setting records in both areas. Rocio Moro, Mahlia White, Savannah Cook and Kierstyn McFall all earned postseason honors, with Moro setting a new standard in the league with three-straight ASUN Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Moro has been named ASUN Defensive Player of the Year in the Spring of 2021, Fall of 2021 and Fall of 2022, marking the first time any ASUN volleyball student-athlete has completed that feat.Â
During the regular season, Moro added another ASUN first to her bio, picking up ASUN Defensive Player of the Week honor No. 8, 9 and 10, setting a conference record.
White joined Moro on the league all-conference squad, being named to the second team after posting 393 kills. She paced the league in kills/set and points/set, surpassing 1,000-career kills in the process.
Cook and McFall were freshmen standouts, earning a spot on the league all-freshman squad, bringing UNF to two on the team for the first time since Julianna Askew and Moro were named back in 2019. McFall set the UNF freshman single season blocks record for the program's Division I era in the process.
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Big on the Block
Maddie Boyd and McFall combined to be two of the best middle blockers in the league, combining for over 200 blocks on the season. Boyd surpassed 200 blocks during the season, while McFall posted a block in all but one match en route to all-freshman honors.
Boyd's numbers were extremely balanced, with the junior finishing the season in the top ten in hitting percentage, block assists, total blocks and blocks/set. Her offense was just as valuable to the Ospreys as she hit .324, putting her first in career hitting percentage for UNF's DI era.
McFall's numbers almost mirrored Boyd's, with the freshman tallying 105 blocks and 125 kills over 29 matches. She was a mainstay in the North Florida lineup, playing in all but four sets on the season.
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Cestero Seals Up a Spectacular Career
UNF great Solimar Cestero put a bow on her phenomenal collegiate career in 2022, finishing up a tenure that began during head coach Kristen Wright's first season back in 2018. Cestero's final game in the Navy and Gray put her at 141 total matches, the most by a UNF volleyball student-athlete in the program's history.
Just a few matches prior, Cestero also tallied the UNF sets played record. The outside hitter finished her career in the top ten in UNF's history in kills (1,261), attacks (3,608) and points (1,434). She will go down as the current UNF rally-scoring era kills record holder after posting 30 in 2019.
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Notes
- Moro became the first-ever ASUN student-athlete to be named ASUN Defensive Player of the Week ten times
- Moro also became the first-ever three-time ASUN Defensive Player of the Year as well as UNF's first AVCA regional honoree during UNF's DI era
- McFall set the UNF DI-era for blocks among a UNF freshman
- Cestero set the program career record for sets played and matches played
- North Florida played its first two matches at the CSI Companies Court
- Third-straight winning season in league play
- Ospreys defeated FGCU, Kennesaw State and Jacksonville State in five-set matches
- Six ASUN weekly awards
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Players Mentioned
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