Volleyball Faces Western Division-Leading LSU on Friday
Friday, October 24, 2008 | Volleyball
The No. 8/7 University of Florida volleyball team opens the second half of the Southeastern Conference's double round-robin schedule on Friday when it travels to Baton Rouge, La., to face Western Division-leading LSU. Opening serve in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center is slated for 8 p.m. EDT and the match will be carried live on WRUF-AM 850 with Tom Collett. UF will then face Georgia in Athens, Ga., at 1:30 p.m. EDT Sunday.
The Gators (16-1, 10-0 SEC) swept through the first half of the double round-robin schedule with a perfect 10-0 league mark after wins against South Carolina and Auburn last week. Florida will be playing for the first time in a week after notching a 3-0 sweep of the Tigers last Friday night in Auburn, Ala.
“Obviously our team is a lot more familiar with the personnel of both LSU and Georgia,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “But it's much harder to beat a team the second time around. I know that we're not the team that we were in September and I think that both of these teams are much different as well.”
As a team, the Gators lead the league in three of seven major statistical categories, including hitting percentage (.270), kills per set (13.83) and assists per set (12.93). Florida also is second in opponent hitting percentage, limiting its opposition to just a .158 efficiency clip.
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) leads the way offensively for the Gators, averaging 3.47 kills per set, which ranks fifth in the SEC. Freshman right-side/setter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) ranks second in the conference in hitting percentage (.375) and is seventh in kills per set with 3.22. She also is the squad's assists leader with 5.85 dishes per set.
Junior libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.) looks to claim sole possession of second place on the school's all-time career digs list on Friday night. She currently is tied with former Florida and high school teammate Marcie Hampton (2004-07) with 1,384 career scoops. Cusack also ranks tops on the team and third in the SEC this year with 4.37 digs per set.
The Gators and Tigers meet for the 41st time in the history of the two programs with Florida holding a 29-11 advantage in the all-time series. UF has claimed 25 consecutive meetings with LSU, dating back to the 1992 campaign and has not dropped a match to the Bayou Bengals since the 1991 campaign, Wise's first season in Gainesville. Eighteen of Florida's 29 wins in the all-time series have come as 3-0 sweeps.
LSU enters Friday's contest on a three-match winning streak and the Tigers hold an 11-6 overall record, including a 6-4 tally in league play. As a team, LSU ranks third in the conference in blocks (2.30/set) and fourth in kills (13.00/set). Statistically, senior libero Elena Martinez is the conference's leading defensive player, averaging 4.52 digs per set. Senior outside hitter Kyna Washington averages a squad-best 3.18 kills per set, which ranks ninth in the SEC, and she also is fourth in service aces with 0.39 per set. Junior middle blocker Britnee Cooper is third in the league with 1.16 blocks per set.
Complete results and a recap of Friday's match will be available at www.GatorZone.com.
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