Florida Volleyball Notebook - Dec. 27
Sunday, December 28, 2008 | Volleyball
Early in their tenures at Florida, head volleyball coach Mary Wise and associate head coach Nick Cheronis felt that one way to increase the level of volleyball interest, knowledge and fan base within the Gainesville community would be to help cultivate a club program within the area.
The result, Gainesville Juniors, has been even more successful than the two could have imagined; its impact equally as much of a pleasant surprise. Members of the Gainesville Juniors program regularly are offered collegiate scholarships and Florida has ranked among the nation's top 10 in attendance in 17 of the last 18 seasons.
Incoming freshman Chloe Mann, who on Saturday was named the Gainesville Sun's 2008 Class 4A-6A Player of the Year, is the sixth player from the Gainesville area to sign with the Gators since the 2000 season. That group includes Florida senior Kelsey Bowers (Gainesville, Fla.), who finished her career ranked sixth on the school's all-time blocks list, and junior Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.), the school's all-time career digs leader.
Wise told the media earlier this fall that she and her staff never expected that the success of the area juniors program would create a regular pipeline for Gator volleyball players. Her staff's primary interest was to cultivate an interest in the sport and create an outlet for volleyball within the Gainesville community.
“We thought, back then, that maybe someday we might get one or two local players who would come play for us, but never like this,” Wise joked.
AVCA AND ESPNU TO AIR HIGH SCHOOL ALL-STAR MATCH ON DEC. 30
Volleyball fans looking to see some of the best talent of the future can tune into the inaugural American Volleyball Coaches Association Under Armour All-America High School Volleyball Match and Skills Competition. That broadcast will be aired Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPNU.
The University of Florida is home of the 2009 NCAA Volleyball Regionals. For more information on Gator Volleyball, log on to www.GatorZone.com.
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