JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - UNF volleyball aims to stay perfect at home when it hosts the Sunshine Invitational beginning Friday, Sept. 15 and running through Saturday, Sept. 16. The Ospreys welcome Alabama A&M, USF and USC Upstate to the UNF Arena for the four-team invite.

MATCH DETAILS
Who | North Florida, Alabama A&M, USF and USC Upstate
What | UNF Sunshine Invitational
When | Friday, Sept. 15 through Saturday, Sept. 16
Where | UNF Arena

Live Coverage

• All of UNF's matches will be available on ESPN+. Live stats will be offered via links on www.unfospreys.com and via various locations on social media. 
• All three neutral site matches will also be streamed, although with limited production features.

Series History

• Alabama A&M: UNF and Alabama A&M have played each other once … that match was back in 2015 when the Ospreys swept the Bulldogs … that match was played in Miami, Fla.
• South Florida: North Florida is taking on USF for the ninth time … the last meeting was back in 2021 at USF during the COVID spring … the Bulls have taken each match … the last meeting in Jacksonville was a five-set barn-burner … four current Ospreys played in that match, including Maddie Boyd, Rocio Moro, Jessica Buis and Kailey McKnight.
• USC Upstate: The head-to-head series between the two teams goes way back, with UNF and USC upstate having played 46 times … UNF and USC Upstate have played 23 matches at home … the last one between the two was a 3-1 win back in 2018, head coach Kristen Wright's first-ever home win … North Florida is 36-10 all-time against USC Upstate.

SCOUTING REPORT

• Alabama A&M: Alabama A&M is 1-8 with its lone win coming against North Carolina Central … last weekend the Bulldogs were swept by Arkansas State and Eastern Illinois … sophomore outside hitter Bailey Duckett paces the team with 63 kills ... head coach Rose Powell is in her 9th season at Alabama A&M ... the Bulldogs are hitting .113 as a team ... AAMU's lone win was a 3-2 win against NC Central Aug. 25.
• USF: South Florida is coming off a 10-20 season and 4-14 AAC performance in 2022 ... USF is coached by Jolene Shepardson in her 4th season in Tampa ... USFstarted off the season hosting some big names at the Road to Tampa Invitational ... the Bulls dropped a three-set match to No. 20 Georgia Tech before going to five frames and coming up just short against then ranked No. 11 Florida ... USF is coming off a 1-2 weekend in South Dakota where it dropped matches against South Dakota and Drake ... Maria Clara Andrade paces the team with 95 kills.
• USC Upstate: USC Upstate is directed by the guidance of first-year head coach Ali Skayhan ... Skayhan is a '14 graduate of Florida Southern ... USC Upstate is 5-4, having defeated Queens, Stonehill, SC State, Georgia State and NC A&T ... the Spartans are long-time rivals of the Ospreys, having previously been members of the ASUN Conference ... USC Upstate has been strong defensively, holding teams to .170 on the attack, good for the best mark in the Big South Conference thus far ... the Spartans rank second in the league in aces per set at 1.57.

MATCH NOTES
Home Sweet Home:

• UNF volleyball improved to 9-0 in its last three home invitationals with the sweep of last weekend's home tourney
• It was the first home tournament for UNF since 2021
• After sweeping Texas Southern, UNF got tough in five for consecutive five-set wins against Charlotte and Louisiana
• Kailey McKnight was named ASUN Tournament MVP, while Annie Antar and Amy Burkhardt were named to the all-tourney team
• McKnight set a career high with 22 kills to go with 12 digs in the win against Charlotte, while Burkhardt and Antar set career highs twice.
• Rocio Moro joined in the career highs with 30 digs and 10 assists, reaching the 10-assist marker for the first time

Up at Coastal Carolina

• UNF is coming off a weekend in Conway, S.C., where it took on two P5 foes and another Group of Five foe 
• North Florida swept Coastal Carolina while dropping matches against Georgia and TCU
• Kailey McKnight has been rolling to start the year and this weekend was no different. She posted 3.30 kills/set for 33 kills
• Rocio Moro was business as usual, going for 4.80 digs/set
• Emma Pohlmann and Yarimar Francis-Garay made their UNF debuts, with Pohlmann earning a pair of starts
• 18 Ospreys have seen time this season

 
Recap from Cali

• UNF started its season in California, playing an exhibition at San Diego State and three matches in Santa Barbara
• UNF took on Denver, New Mexico State and UCSB
• The Ospreys started the weekend with a 3-1 win against Denver, but dropped matches to NMSU and UCSB
• Kailey McKnight posted 36 kills and earned all-tournament honors
• North Florida's roster features four Ospreys that are either from California or played college volleyball somewhere in California
• Head coach Kristen Wright is also a California native.

Preseason Picks

• UNF made some noise in the preseason conference rankings and all-league team
• Mahalia White and Rocio Moro were both league superlative award honorees, with Moro being named ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year for the third-straight time, while Mahalia White was named ASUN Preseason Player of the Year.
• Moro is the three-time reigning ASUN Defensive Player of the Year, the only student-athlete to have earned that honor three times in the history of the league
• White was named to the ASUN Second Team a year ago after pacing the league in points/set and kills/set

Hungry and Experienced

• North Florida brings back significant numbers from last year's team that finished 9-7 in league play
• Headlining that group is Moro and White, along with starters in 2022 ASUN All-Freshman pick Kierstyn McFall, Maddie Boyd, Kailey McKnight
• North Florida returns 85.5 percent of its sets played for 2022

Highest of Honors

• Graduate student Mahalia White received one of the highest honors in all of collegiate sports this past summer
• White joined the nation's best female student-athletes in Los Angeles for the Collegiate Women's Sports Award (CWSA) Honda Cup ceremonies
• She was selected by the CWSA as the Honda Inspiration Cup award winner, an honor given to a female student-athlete in any of the NCAA Divisions that has overcome an extraordinary trial during their respective careers before overcoming and returning to success
• White defeated Hodgkin's Lymphoma and a torn ACL during her collegiate playing career before returning to the court and putting up all-league honors last year

Noting the Newcomers

• UNF's roster features 19 total and six newcomers
• Just two of UNF's newcomers are true freshmen, as Emma Pohlmann suits up in the Navy and Gray after arriving by way of Birmingham, Ala. Francis-Garay competed for her native country of Puerto Rico this summer before joining the Ospreys in mid-August
• Morgan Wilson (Towson), Rylee Moorhead (Presbyterian), Negron (UC Irvine) and Kyla Solis (Clemson), all bring extensive experience in the DI ranks.