Volleyball Concludes First Half of SEC Schedule at Auburn
Friday, October 17, 2008 | Volleyball
The No. 8/7 Florida volleyball team closes out the first half of the Southeastern Conference schedule on Friday when it travels to Auburn, Ala., to take on Auburn. Opening serve in the Student Activities Center is slated for 7 p.m. EDT and the match will be carried live on ROCK 104 with Tom Collett.
The Gators (15-1, 9-0 SEC) are coming off wins in each of their matches during a three-match homestand against No. 25 Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina. Florida swept the Gamecocks on Wednesday night behind strong defensive play and the eighth consecutive double-double by freshman right-side/setter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.).
On the season, redshirt freshman outside hitter/right-side Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) leads the way for the Gators, averaging 3.51 kills per set, while Murphy follows with 3.16 kills per set on a squad best .360 hitting efficiency. Murphy ranks ninth in the SEC in assists per set with 5.89 assists per set and also is second on the team in digs with 1.74.
Junior libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.) heads up Florida's defensive effort, averaging 4.32 digs per set. She finished with a team-high 10 digs vs. South Carolina and now has 1,368 career scoops. Cusack currently ranks fourth on the school's all-time digs list and needs just four more to tie Rachel Engel (2002-05) for third-place all-time.
The Gators and Tigers meet for the 31st time in the history of the two programs with Florida holding a 29-1 advantage in the all-time series. The Gators are a perfect 24-0 vs. the Tigers under the direction of head coach Mary Wise and Florida has claimed 25 consecutive meetings between the two teams.
Auburn, which is in the midst of a four-match homestand enters Friday's match with a 5-14 overall record, including an 0-8 mark in SEC play, after dropping last weekend's matches to Georgia and LSU. For the weekend, the Tigers were led by senior Jessica Glover as she tallied 34 kills and a .358 hitting percentage with 4.25 kills per set. Sophomore libero Liz Crouch returned to the lineup after missing the previous two weeks and averaged 4.62 digs per set.
Glover ranks first on the team and seventh in the SEC in kills per set with 3.27, while setter Sara Shanks is eighth in the league in assists per set with 8.16 dishes per set. Crouch leads the defensive effort, averaging 3.44 digs per set, which ranks ninth in the conference.
Complete results and a recap of Friday's match will be available at www.GatorZone.com.
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