JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - After playing the vast majority of the 2022 season away from the UNF Arena due to renovations last season, UNF volleyball is excited to host the first of two non-conference tournaments this weekend. The Ospreys welcome Texas Southern, Louisiana and Charlotte to the UNF Arena for UNF's first such tourney since September of 2021. 

MATCH DETAILS
Who | North Florida, Texas Southern, Louisiana, Charlotte
What | North Florida Invitational
When | Friday, Sept. 8 - Saturday, Sept. 9
Where | UNF Arena | Jacksonville, Fla.

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

• Texas Southern: First-ever meeting against Texas Southern
• Louisiana: UNF and Louisiana have met twice and once previously at UNF … both meetings have been held when Louisiana had a different name … one being Louisiana-Lafayette and also Southwestern Louisiana … the series is split, with both sides possessing a sweep … the last meeting was Sept. 14, 2013.
• Charlotte: UNF and UNC Charlotte are squaring off for the fourth time … the 49ers lead the series, 3-0 … the last meeting was Sept. 2, 2017 in Statesboro, Ga. … this is the second meeting between the two teams at UNF. 

SCOUTING REPORT

• Texas Southern: Texas Southern enters after dropping every set of each of its weekend at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi … prior to that the Tigers were swept three times at UTSA … second-year head coach Alexis Austin brings back nine letterwinners and eight newcomers … freshman outside hitter and Tampa native, Kennedy Reed, paces the team with 39 kills … setter Dallas Balanay-Flores has 83 assists through 18 sets played … Ryan Henderson leads the team with 2.50 digs/set … opponents are hitting .353 against the Tigers, while TSU is hitting just .079.
• Louisiana: Louisiana posted a 4-3 mark through the first two weekends on the road … the Ragin Cajuns started the year with tournaments at Mississippi State and Texas Tech … Louisiana swept ASUN foe, Eastern Kentucky … its most notable win was a sweep of No. 18 Rice on the road Aug. 29 …Louisiana came up just short in five frames against both Wyoming and Mississippi State … the Ragin Cajuns are hitting .209 as a team while holding foes to .188 on offense … the squad returns Cami Hicks, a 2022 Sun Belt All-Conference pick … the roster features five freshmen, two sophomore, six juniors and four seniors … last year they advanced to the Sun Belt quarterfinals before bowing out of the first round of the NIVC Championship.
• Charlotte: The 49ers are 4-2 after two weekends of volleyball … Charlotte opened the year with a home tournament against Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina and Elon … the past weekend UNCC went to Colorado where it was swept by Colorado and Northern Colorado … the weekend was capped with a sweep against Xavier … Charlotte defeated Coastal Carolina in five frames, a familiar foe for the Ospreys this year … setter Annika Wetterstrom surpassed 1,000-career assists earlier this year, making her seventh in program history … libero Sophie Whalen was named the MVP of the season-opening tournament, the same weekend she surpassed 1,000-career digs.

MATCH NOTES
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.