Countdown to Operation 6k
Monday, August 21, 2017 | Volleyball, Chris Harry
Mary Wise and her volleyball team are asking for 6,000 fans to come see Friday night's match against Texas, the program's first in the renovated O'Dome.
That was the first word (and certainly an applicable one) to come from Mary Wise with regard to her volleyball program's pending move back into the refurbished Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. To say it's been a long time coming would be an understatement.
"We're the last ones," said Wise, whose team last played in the O'Dome on Dec. 4, 2015. "We were the first ones out of there and now we'll be the last ones in."
Now, Wise and the Gators want to make the most of their wait.
And they're asking Florida fans to make the O'Dome homecoming one to remember.
They're calling it "#Operation6k" — look for the social media blitz that officially launches Monday — and the goal is to have 6,000 fans inside the O'Dome Friday night when the 12th-ranked Gators make their long-awaited return home by opening the 2017 season against preseason No. 1 and reigning NCAA runner-up Texas in the third edition of the VERT Challenge.
The UF-UT matchup will represent half the juggernaut four-team bracket that also features fifth-ranked Nebraska, just two seasons removed from its fourth national title, and Pac-12 power Oregon, which will open the season ranked 18th.
Wise, who longed for this upcoming event each time she attended basketball or gymnastics events last season and experienced the $64.5 million renovations, put the enormity of the VERT Challenge in context.
"If men's basketball was hosting, say, Duke, Kentucky and Kansas at the same time, not only would the passionate basketball fans in town be there, but anyone with a remote interest in sports would say, 'I have to see this!' " Wise said, "Well, that's this tournament."
There's a subplot, as well.
While Florida and Texas have played 23 times over the years, this will mark their first meeting since the controversial 2015 NCAA Tournament showdown at Austin when — with a berth to the Final Four on the line — officials made an egregious error in calling a UF kill out of bounds during the decisive fifth set won by the Longhorns 17-15. Replays clearly showed the ball was in by a good 15 inches.
Last season, the NCAA introduced video replay review to volleyball following what folks around UF volleyball now refer to as "The Call."
"That call, made on national television, accelerated the replay process," Wise said. "Everybody knows what happened."
Now, roll all the intrigue together and this one is begging for 6,000 fans. If not more.
Worth noting: There were 4,300 at that last Texas match.
"There's so much hype with this game, but a lot of us will go into it without any expectations or prior thoughts because we've never played in there," said senior libero Carolina Knop, who transferred to UF last season by way of Michigan. "We're all so excited about the thought of playing in front of 6,000 people. There's probably some of us who collectively have never played in front of 6,000, so it would mean the world to us to have that many Gator-loving fans in there for such an intense match."
Among the festivities planned for Friday night:
- The first 2,000 general fans and first 1,000 students will receive a "POINT FLORIDA!" T-shirt.
- Radio station 103.7 will provide live music as part of a pre-game tailgate outside Gate 1. On the other end of the O'Dome, station Magic 101.3 will set up camp and host a student block party, with Domino's Pizza while supplies last. Fans will also be able to take their turn throwing at targets in a Dunk Tank.
- All children in attendance can stop by the "Kids Corner" for tailgate games, poster-making and more.
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