JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (September 27, 2024) – The University of North Alabama volleyball team will hit the road for its second Atlantic Sun Conference matchup Saturday morning against the Jacksonville Dolphins.
With the conference schedule in full swing, the Lions travels to Jacksonville, Fla. for the lone matchup of the week against the Dolphins. North Alabama has won three of its last four matches, closing non-conference play with three straight wins over Alabama, Jackson State and Little Rock. UNA will also be looking to get the first ASUN win of the season following a loss at Central Arkansas in the conference opener last weekend.
The match will be played at the Swisher Gymnasium on the campus of Jacksonville and is free of charge to all spectators. The match will also be streamed on ESPN+, and live stats will be provided through SIDEARM.
Full results and a recap will be posted on RoarLions.com following the action, but fans can also follow along in real time on the UNA Volleyball social media pages.
MATCH INFO
North Alabama at Jacksonville
Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024
11 a.m.
Watch | Live Stats | Twitter
NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: The Lions capped their last invitational of the regular season with a 2-1 weekend at the Central Arkansas Invitational. Competing from Sept. 20-21, North Alabama dropped its day-one match against the Sugar Bears but rebounded with two-straight wins against Jackson State and Little Rock.
BROOKS THE BEAST: Graduate Jasmine Brooks had a career day against Little Rock on Sept. 21, totaling a career high with 21 kills which also ties North Alabama's Division I single-match kills record. She shares the record with senior Katy Floyd, who achieved the feat twice in 2021.
RICKETTS CONTINUES TO RISE: Ricketts received her second ASUN Volleyball Freshman of the Week by the league office on Sept. 23, becoming the third Lion in Division I program history to receive the award twice. The freshman averaged a double-double with averages of 13.5 kills and 11.75 digs per match. She set a career high with 17 digs to go with a match high of 15 kills on .448 hitting percentage against Alabama on Sept. 18 and set two more season and career highs on Sept. 21 with four blocks against Jackson State and three service aces against Little Rock.
A TEAM EFFORT: North Alabama is in the top three of five statistical categories as a team, ranking among the best ASUN teams as of Sept. 26 in opponent hitting percentage, opponent kills, opponent service aces, opponent blocks and digs. The Lions are second in digs (16.79 per set), opponent service aces (1.10 per set) and opponent blocks (1.76 per set) and third in opponent kills (12.33 per set) and opponent hitting percentage (.183 per set).
LEADERBOARD LIONS: Five individual Lions are also ranked in the top-10 of the ASUN in respective categories. Freshman Reese Ricketts is fourth in kills with 181 kills and a 3.48 kill/set average and fourth in points, averaging 3.85 a set. Ricketts also has the second most kills among top-10, behind only 189 kills from FGCU's Shelby Kent. Freshman Audrey Small is third in the ASUN in digs, registering a 4.52 digs/set average with her 235 digs leading the top 10. Senior Elif Ozsoy is eighth in the conference with 345 assists and a 6.63 set average, while sophomore Olivia Fenoff is tenth with 17 service aces and a .33 ace/set average. Sophomore Nicole Sargent rounds out the leaderboard with 45 blocks and a .87 blocks/average – good for 10th in the ASUN.
AMONG THE BEST: North Alabama ranks among the top 25 in the NCAA in both digs and kills. As of Sept. 26, the Lions are fifth in the nation in digs (873), 22nd in kills (631) and 23rd in digs per set. UNA is also outside the top-25 with 573 total assists – good for 33rd. Among individuals, Small and Ricketts rank among the top 50 with Small sixth in total digs and Ricketts 29th and 41st in kills and points, respectively.
SCOUTING THE LIONS: North Alabama's offense and net defense led the way in a 3-1 week of action last time out. In matches against Alabama, Central Arkansas, Jackson State and Little Rock, UNA registered 192 kills and a .226 hitting percentage – surpassing the 182 kills and .166 hitting percentage from opponents. The Lions also led in blocks, with North Alabama having a 31-27.5 advantage at the net.
SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE: Jacksonville will face the Lions in the first ASUN match for the Dolphins. Jacksonville enters the matchup at 5-7, winning its last two matches. Last competing at the JU Invitational, the Dolphins went 2-1 with wins against Columbia and Bethune-Cookman to round out the tournament. Emily Hodsdon is a key member of the team, leading the team with 357 assists while fifth in the ASUN with 8.5 assists/set. The head coach for Jacksonville is Alicia Roth.
SERIES HISTORY: The Lions lead the all-time series 9-4 in the 14th meeting between the two programs. UNA has won the last three meetings, with the last resulting in a 3-1 win on Oct. 22, 2023 in CB&S Bank Arena.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
