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UNF beach volleyball team plays in NCAAs: What to know about Ospreys' first appearance

garry smits, jacksonville florida times-union
·2 min read

But UNF will now break new ground when they play in the National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship for the first time, beginning on Friday at the Gulf Shores Public Beach in Gulf Shores, Ala.

The University of North Florida beach volleyball team has won five ASUN titles, the most recent coming last week when the Ospreys swept four opponents in DeLand — the first time in conference history that the champion either didn't lose a match or it was declared unfinished when a team was the first to three victories in the three-of-five format.

Mariana Feliciano-Sanchez, a junior at the University of North Florida, has combined with Mackenzie Murphy to go 24-4 for the Ospreys beach volleyball team entering the NCAA Championship.
Mariana Feliciano-Sanchez, a junior at the University of North Florida, has combined with Mackenzie Murphy to go 24-4 for the Ospreys beach volleyball team entering the NCAA Championship.

UNF (24-11) is the 16th seed in the tournament and will play No. 17 Chattanooga (19-9) at 10 a.m. The winner will then face top-seeded USC at 1 p.m.

Also in the tournament is fourth-seeded Florida State. The Seminoles (29-7) play No. 13 Washington (20-15) at 11 a.m.

Here's what to know about the Ospreys' first trip to the NCAAs:

UNF heads to Gulf Shores on a roll

The Ospreys are on a seven-match winning streak and in the ASUN Tournament swept Austin Peay (5-0), North Alabama and Stetson twice (all by 3-0 scores, with two matches left unfinished).

UNF is 73-36 in three seasons under coach Doug Wright.

North Florida has never played Chattanooga but has played USC twice in tournaments, losing both.

What's the Ospreys' lineup?

Wright started 14 doubles teams this season but seems to have settled on a starting five duos (season records in parentheses):

  • No. 1: Juniors Michaela Rezentes and Taylor Pierce (17-15).

  • No. 2: Sophomores Presley Murray and Madison Espy (19-13), the ASUN Pair of the Year in 2023, the first freshman to earn that honor. They are 46-18 as a team.

  • No. 3: Junior Irish Fletcher and sophomore Katie Camp (17-2). Camp is 25-5 with two partners this season.

  • No. 4: Junior Hayden Wooldridge and freshman Cameron Humphries (24-7), who went 8-0 in their ASUN tournament sets.

  • No. 5: Junior Mariana Feliciano Sanchez and sophomore Mackenzie Murphy (24-4), who were 8-1 in ASUN tournament sets.

Ospreys dominated All-ASUN team

Fletcher and Camp made the first team and Murray and Espy, Humphries and Wooldridge and Sanchez and Murphy were named to the second team by conference coaches on the All-ASUN team.

Humphries made the All-Freshman team.

The University of North Florida beach volleyball team won its fifth ASUN title last weekend in DeLand and will play in its first NCAA tournament beginning on Friday.
The University of North Florida beach volleyball team won its fifth ASUN title last weekend in DeLand and will play in its first NCAA tournament beginning on Friday.

Fletcher was also the ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She has a 3.9 GPA, majoring in special education.

How to watch the NCAA beach volleyball tournament

The UNF-Chattanooga match will be on ESPNU and if the Ospreys win, their match against USC also will be on that channel.

All quarterfinal and semifinal matches will be on ESPN2 and the championship match on May 5 at noon will be on ESPN.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: The UNF beach volleyball team in its first NCAA tournament: What to know