Florida Volleyball Notebook - Aug. 16
Saturday, August 16, 2008 | Volleyball
“The best thing to come from this scrimmage is the video,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said following Saturday's practice. “It creates a great teaching tool with what we will be able to show them. There are so many parts of the game that need tweaking and refining, but the good news is the personnel, their athleticism and their talent.
“I do think the players responded today,” Wise continued. “The effort was very good and it was consistently good in whatever lineup we put out there. My feeling is that we just can't get to the video fast enough.”
The scrimmage also provided Florida the opportunity to practice late-game situations that will change this season due to the fact that each set will be played to 25 points in 2008 instead of the 30-point format previously utilized.
Since 2001, the collegiate game has used rally scoring in all games with games one through four played to 30 points and game five played to 15 points. Prior to the 2001 campaign, the NCAA utilized a side-out format with all games played to 15 points and a rally-scoring fifth game.
“The players grew up playing to 25 so, for them, it's not that big of a deal,” Wise said. “But for us as coaches, we're the ones that will have to make more adjustments in terms of match-ups when you start and how they will have more of a bearing. We're trying to figure that out and this gave us a taste of that today.”
The Gators begin their 2008 season by hosting the Aquafina Invitational in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Florida's first match is set for 7 p.m. on Aug. 29 when the Gators play host to UAB.
MURPHY AND WARD FEATURED IN SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF VOLLEYBALL MAGAZINE
Florida volleyball freshmen Kelly Murphy (Joliet, Ill.) and Colleen Ward (Naperville, Ill.), and their Sports Performance club team are featured in the September 2008 issue of Volleyball Magazine.
Their Mizuno Sports Performance 18 Elite team went 83-0 this season and won 120 consecutive matches dating back to April 2007. Both Murphy and Ward were named AAU All-Americans in 2008 and directed their team to the Junior Volleyball Directors Association Championship and the AAU 18-and- under open national championship this summer.
“We ended in such a positive way and it was so satisfying,” Murphy was quoted as saying in the magazine. “Even when you say it, you don't grasp the 83-0. It's amazing.”
Both Murphy and Ward were among the nation's top-10 recruits this season, as judged by PrepVolleyball.com. Florida's six-player true freshman class, which includes Cassandra Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif.), Cindy Bathelt (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Elissa Hausmann (Tampa, Fla.) and Betsy Smith (Atlanta, Ga.), along with redshirt freshman Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.), was judged the nation's No. 1 recruiting class this summer by both PrepVolleyball.com and Volleyball Magazine.
“Kelly Murphy and Colleen Ward played for arguably the most successful club team in the history of junior volleyball,” Wise said.
REMINDER - FAN DAY ON SUNDAY, AUG. 24
Florida will host its annual Fan Day and Orange and Blue Match on Sunday, Aug. 24 at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Doors open at 12:30 p.m. with autographs scheduled for 1 p.m. and the scrimmage set for 2 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public with a reminder that only the team poster, which will be provided upon entrance, may be autographed.
