Florida Volleyball Notebook - Sept. 3
Wednesday, September 3, 2008 | Volleyball
The University of Florida volleyball fans ensured the Gators of the second-highest attendance in the nation this past weekend, as 5,747 fans passed through the Stephen C. O'Connell Center turnstiles to watch the Gators play UAB and Pacific.
The NCAA Division I women's volleyball attendance rankings, issued each week by Diane Nordstrom, associate communications director at the University of Wisconsin, showed the Gators' with the nation's second-highest average attendance this weekend as Florida averaged 2,874 fans per match. The Gators also recorded two of the nation's top-eight crowds this weekend with 2,940 fans at the match vs. Pacific on Saturday and 2,807 fans at the match vs. UAB.
“I thought with Friday night's opening crowd and Saturday, even after the football game in a long day for Gator fans, we had two great crowds,” UF head coach Mary Wise said. “What a benefit that is for this young team to play in front of that hometown support.”
The weekend's top attended matches occurred at the Runza/AVCA Showcase Aug. 29 and Aug. 31 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb., as 15,928 fans passed through the turnstiles during two days of that event.
Florida returns to action on Friday when it plays host to Jacksonville on the opening day of the Campus USA Credit Union Invitational. Opening serve is set for 7 p.m. in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. The match will be carried live on WRUF-AM and GatorVision Online.
2008 Division I Women's Volleyball Attendance Week 1 Poll
| Rank | School | Avg. Att. | Total | # of Matches |
| 1 | Hawai'i | 6,496 | 19,487 | 3 |
| 2 | Florida | 2,874 | 5,747 | 2 |
| 3 | Colorado State | 2,179 | 6,535 | 3 |
| 4 | Purdue | 1,875 | 5,626 | 3 |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 1,259 | 3,776 | 3 |
| 6 | BYU | 1,067 | 3,201 | 3 |
| 7 | Georgia | 920 | 2,761 | 3 |
| 8 | Creighton | 898 | 3,591 | 4 |
2008 Division I Women's Volleyball Week 1 Top-Match Attendance
| Rank | Match | Attendance | Date |
| 1 | Runza/AVCA Showcase | 8,399 | 8/31/08 |
| 2 | Runza/AVCA Showcase | 7,529 | 8/29/08 |
| 3 | Penn State at Hawaii | 7,111 | 8/29/08 |
| 4 | UCLA at Hawaii | 6,552 | 8/31/08 |
| 5 | Ohio at Hawaii | 5,824 | 8/30/08 |
| 6 | Arkansas at Colorado State | 3,211 | 8/29/08 |
| 7 | Pacific at Florida | 2,940 | 8/30/08 |
| 8 | UAB at Florida | 2,807 | 8/29/08 |
| 9 | E. Washington at Colorado State | 2,135 | 8/30/08 |
| 10 | Utah State at BYU | 2,125 | 8/29/08 |
END OF REPORT
