No. 3 Volleyball to Host Hilton Volleyball Classic
Thursday, September 11, 2003 | Volleyball
The third-ranked Florida volleyball team hosts the Hilton Volleyball Classic this weekend at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. The Gators welcome Florida A&M, No. 20 Minnesota and Xavier to Florida for the two-day tournament, which begins Friday at 5 p.m.
Florida enters the Hilton Volleyball Classic with a 6-1 record after sweeping both No. 7 UC Santa Barbara and No. 4 Stanford last weekend at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. The Gators' win over Stanford was the first loss the Cardinal has suffered at home against a non-PAC 10 team since Oct. 9, 1993. The Gators are 4-0 against Florida A&M with the last win coming in 2001. The only meeting with Minnesota came in 1984 when Florida fell to the Golden Gophers 3-1 in Gainesville. The Gators have never faced Xavier.
Florida A&M comes to Gainesville with a 2-2 record after splitting with its opponents in both tournament this season. The Rattlers defeated Bradley and Jacksonville while falling to Colorado State and Stanford. This will be the fifth -ever meeting with the Gators. The Rattlers advance to last year's NCAA Tournament after winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championships in 2002.
No. 20 Minnesota enters the Hilton Volleyball Classic with a 2-4 overall record, but the Golden Gophers are riding a two-match winning streak after sweeping both Dayton and Marquette in the Nike Invitational. Last year, Minnesota set a school record for wins in a season (during the NCAA era) with 32, won its first Big Ten title in school history and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the 2002 NCAA Tournament.
Xavier enters the tournament with a 5-1 overall record, having won their first five matches of the season. The Musketeers fell to Central Michigan 3-2 in their last match before the Hilton Volleyball Classic. Xavier advanced to the Atlantic-10 tournament semifinal match in 2002 before falling to eventual-conference champion Temple 3-1.
Friday is Dollar Day at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Adult admission is $1, and as always, Children under 17 and UF students with a valid ID are admitted free.
Hilton Volleyball Classic Schedule
Friday, Sept. 12
Match #1: Xavier vs. No. 20 Minnesota 5 p.m.
Match #2: No. 3 Florida vs. Florida A&M 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 13
Match #1: Xavier/No. 20 Minnesota vs. Florida A&M 1 p.m.
Match #2: No. 3 Florida vs. Xavier/No. 20 Minnesota 3:30 p.m.
