Volleyball Continues Homestand Sunday vs. Tennessee
Saturday, October 11, 2008 | Volleyball
The No. 9/8 Florida volleyball team, the only Southeastern Conference squad with an undefeated league record, continues its three-match homestand on Sunday when it plays host to Tennessee on Sunday in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Opening serve is set for 1:30 p.m. EDT and the match will be carried live on Sun Sports and WRUF-AM 850.
The Gators (13-1, 7-0 SEC) are coming off a hard-fought 3-2 victory against No. 25 Kentucky at home on Friday night. Freshman right-side/setter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) recorded a triple-double for the third consecutive Friday night, finishing with 11 kills on .400 hitting, 25 assists and 10 digs. Redshirt freshman outside hitter/right-side Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) tallied a match-high 18 kills to complement seven digs for a squad-best 19.5 points.
“With Tennessee, the players may be different, but the defenses remain the same,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “They dig balls like no other and, like Kentucky, when Tennessee comes in here, they always play very well. I think Tennessee would be in the running for an SEC title right now had they not lost their middle blocker [Leah Hinkey] due to an ACL injury. It's that scary injury that can change an entire team, but what I love about that team is how hard they play.”
Jaeckel is the team's leader in kills per set, averaging 3.69 kills per set, while Murphy follows with 3.06 kills per set. Murphy is tops on the team in both hitting percentage (.337) and assists per set (5.86/set). Junior libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.), who ranks fifth on UF's all-time career digs list with 1,346, heads Florida's defensive effort with 4.39 digs per set.
The Gators and Lady Vols meet for the 46th time in the history of the two programs with Florida leading the all-time series 37-8, including a 33-3 mark under the direction of Wise. The Gators have won four consecutive matches against the Lady Vols after Tennessee won three of five matches between the two teams from 2004-05. Twenty-eight of Florida's wins in the all-time series have come as 3-0 sweeps.
The Lady Vols enter Sunday's match with a 10-7 record, including a 4-3 mark in SEC play. Tennessee dropped a three-set match to South Carolina on Friday night in Columbia, following a pair of victories against Auburn and Louisville this past week. Sophomore outside hitter Nikki Fowler led UT for the 13th time this season with eight kills against the Gamecocks, while junior libero Chloe Goodman finished with 10 digs to mark her 11th consecutive double-digit digs performance.
Goodman is the league's top defensive player, averaging an SEC-leading 4.58 digs per set, while freshman middle blocker Alyssa Hilby entered the weekend as the league's top blocker, and is averaging 4.20 rejections per set. Fowler leads the way offensively, averaging 3.45 kills per set, while senior outside hitter Milan Clarke follows with 2.70 kills per set.
Complete results and a recap of Sunday's match will be available at www.GatorZone.com.
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