Volleyball Concludes Road Trip at No. 21 Colorado State
Friday, September 12, 2008 | Volleyball
The No. 8/9 Florida volleyball team concludes its three-match road trip on Saturday when it travels to Ft. Collins, Colo., to take on No. 21 Colorado State. Opening serve in Moby Arena is set for 9 p.m. EDT and the match will be carried live on Cox Sports Television and AM-850 WRUF.
The Gators (6-0) are coming off a 3-1 win at Colorado on Thursday night. Florida out-blocked the Buffaloes 12.0-3.0, led by sophomore middle blocker/right-side Lauren Bledsoe's (Long Beach, Calif.) career-high seven blocks. Three UF players tallied double-figure kills for the second consecutive match, led by redshirt freshman Kristy Jaeckel's (Littleton, Colo.) team-high 15.
Colorado State will be the second ranked opponent that the Gators will face this season after defeating then-No. 23 Long Beach State in five sets. Florida is 89-71 all-time vs. teams ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association top-25 poll at the time of the match.
Jaeckel leads the way for the Gators, averaging 3.82 kills per set, which ranks second in the Southeastern Conference, on .316 hitting. Freshman setter/right-side Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) follows with 2.73 kills per set, while freshman outside hitter Colleen Ward (Naperville, Ill.) adds 2.63 kills per set. Junior middle blocker Kristina Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) is the team's leading blocker with 1.17 rejections per set, while Bledsoe follows with 1.00 blocks per set.
Junior libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.) leads the team's defensive effort, averaging 4.14 digs per set, which ranks second in the SEC. Cusack moved into sole possession of sixth place on the school's all-time digs list on Thursday night with 1,213 career digs. She surpassed Jenny Manz (1996-99), who recorded 1,202 digs in her Florida career.
Florida leads the all-time series with Colorado State 2-1, although the Gators and Rams have not met in Ft. Collins since the 1988 campaign, a 3-2 win for Florida. The last time the two teams played, the Gators recorded a 3-0 win against the Rams in the 2003 NCAA Regional Semifinals in Gainesville on Dec. 12, 2003. No current Florida players have ever faced Colorado State.
Colorado State (6-1), which will play North Carolina tonight at 9 p.m. EDT, currently is on a 17-match home win streak after going a perfect 14-0 on its home court last season. The Rams are coming off a 3-1 win against Colorado on Wednesday night, as fifth-year senior middle blocker Mekana Barnes tallied 15 kills on .360 hitting with a season-high nine blocks. Barnes is averaging 13.4 kills per match in her last five matches. Senior setter Ashley Fornstrom dished out 45 assists and came up with a season-high 14 digs in Wednesday's match.
On the season, Barnes leads the team with 3.19 kills per set on .371 hitting, while also leading the team in blocking with 1.62 blocks per set. Fornstrom is dishing out a squad-best 10.81 assists per set, while ranking third on the squad in digs with 2.23 scoops per set.
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