Volleyball Hosts Arkansas on Sunday
Saturday, November 1, 2008 | Volleyball
The No. 11/9 Florida volleyball team continues its three-match homestand on Sunday when it plays host to Arkansas. Opening serve in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center is slated for 1:30 p.m. EST and the match will be carried live on GatorVision Online and WRUF-AM 850 with Tom Collett and Missy Whittemore.
The Gators (18-2, 12-1 Southeastern Conference) are coming off a 3-0 sweep of Ole Miss on Friday night. Florida had five players record seven or more kills in that match, led by freshman right-side/setter Kelly Murphy's (Wilmington, Ill.) match-high 12 kills on .320 hitting, and out-blocked the Rebels 8.0-0.0.
Junior libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.) became the Gators' all-time career digs leader on Friday night when she surpassed Lyra Vance (1984-87) for first-place all-time in that category. Cusack had 22 digs in Friday's match and increased her career total to 1,461 digs. Cusack currently leads the league in digs per set, averaging 4.64, while she also is fifth in the conference in service aces with 0.38 per set.
Murphy leads the Gators offensively, averaging 3.32 kills per set, which ranks sixth in the SEC, while also ranking second in the league in hitting percentage with a .379 clip. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) follows with 3.22 kills per set, while freshman outside hitter Colleen Ward (Naperville, Ill.) adds 2.29 put-downs per set.
Freshman setter Cindy Bathelt (Colorado Springs, Colo.) is averaging a squad-best 5.73 assists per set, while Murphy adds 5.64 assists per set, operating as part of a 6-2 offensive scheme.
Florida and Arkansas meet for the 28th time in the history of the two programs. The Gators lead the all-time series 25-2 after first meeting the Razorbacks during the 1994 season when they added volleyball to their athletics program. From 1995-99, Florida and Arkansas met annually to decide the SEC Tournament title.
Arkansas enters Sunday's match with a 6-16 overall record, including a 3-9 mark in SEC play. The Razorbacks have been led much of the season by senior Christina Lawrence who is on pace to become the 13th player in school history to reach her career 1,000th kill. The Sullivan, Mo., native needs just two more to reach the milestone.
The Razorbacks are coming off a 3-0 loss at South Carolina on Friday night. The Gamecocks out-hit Arkansas .423-.158 in the match, as the Razorbacks were led by Lawrence's nine kills on .474 hitting.
Complete results and a recap of Sunday's match will be available at www.GatorZone.com.
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