No. 6 Volleyball Heads to Columbia for Mid-Week SEC Tilt
Tuesday, October 6, 2009 | Volleyball
| GATOR MATCH-DAY VS. SOUTH CAROLINA | |
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The No. 6 Florida volleyball team begins a four-match road swing in Columbia, S.C., on Wednesday night when the Gators take on South Carolina in the Volleyball Competition Facility. Opening serve is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the match will be carried live on ESPNU and on WRUF-AM 850 with Tom Collett.
The Gators (11-2, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) are coming off a split this past weekend against SEC Eastern Division foes then-No. 15 Kentucky and Tennessee. Florida dropped a five-set thriller to the nationally ranked Wildcats on Friday night in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center before rebounding with at here-set sweep of the Lady Vols on Sunday.
“It doesn't get any easier with this four-match road swing,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “I think that this is South Carolina's year. If they hadn't lost their great outside hitter [Ivana Kujundzic] to an ankle injury, this team could be top-25 with the wins they've had. South Carolina weathered the storm during the time they were without her. She's back and they're a tough match-up for us because of how quick they play. That's a challenge.
“We're excited to be on ESPNU,” Wise continued. “It's great exposure for our league to be on national television as many times as SEC volleyball is being broadcast.”
Florida is led by a pair of outside hitters who each average 3.0 kills per set or better on the season. Sophomore Colleen Ward (Naperville, Ill.) leads the team and ranks fifth in the SEC, averaging 3.37 kills per set and a squad-best 3.89 points per set, while also ranking second in blocks per set with 0.65. Sophomore Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) is averaging 3.00 kills per set to complement 2.22 digs per set, both of which rank second on the team.
Senior libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.) heads the team's back-row effort, ranking sixth in the SEC in digs per set with 4.00. Cusack ranks third all-time in SEC history in career digs with 1,830 career scoops.
Sophomore middle blocker Cassandra Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif.) averages a squad-best 1.12 blocks per set, which is fourth in the SEC, and has either led or tied for the team lead in blocks in 11 of 13 matches. She also had a career-high three service aces this past Sunday against Tennessee.
The Gators and Gamecocks meet for the 48th time in the history of the two programs. Florida leads the all-time series 40-7, including a 35-2 mark under the direction of head coach Mary Wise. Thirty of UF's 40 victories in the all-time series have come in the form of 3-0 sweeps.
South Carolina enters Wednesday's match with a 10-5 overall record, including a 2-4 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The Gamecocks lost a pair of matches this past weekend to Tennessee (L, 1-3) and No. 15 Kentucky (L, 2-3) in Columbia and have lost four of their last six matches overall.
South Carolina is led by senior outside hitter Ivana Kujundzic, who leads the SEC with an average of 4.28 kills per set. Kujundzic on Sunday became the 11th player in South Carolina school history to join the 1,000-kill club. Junior outside hitter Hannah Lawing follows with 3.20 kills per set, while junior middle blocker Megan Laughlin adds 2.32 put-downs per set.
Senior setter Bridget Denson-Dorman, in her second season with the Gamecocks after transferring from Connecticut, is averaging a team-high 9.97 assists per set, while senior libero Sarah Cline averages 4.58 digs per set in anchoring the squad's back-row efforts.
Complete results and a recap of Wednesday's match will be available at www.GatorZone.com/volleyball.
QUICK NOTES
- The Gators and Gamecocks meet for the 48th time in the history of the two programs. Florida leads the all-time series 40-7, including a 35-2 mark under the direction of head coach Mary Wise. Thirty of UF's 40 victories in the all-time series have come in the form of 3-0 sweeps.
- South Carolina's Volleyball Competition Facility proved to be the venue where Florida clinched its NCAA record-leading 18th consecutive SEC title, after a thrilling 3-2 victory on Nov. 26, 2008. The Gators and Gamecocks will also meet late this season on Nov. 27 in Gainesville in what could also be a critical match-up.
- Florida's 589 wins since 1991 are the most of any team in the nation during that time period.
- Senior libero Elyse Cusack is the school's all-time digs leader with 1,830 career scoops and ranks third all-time in SEC history for career digs. She is the first Florida player to achieve 1,800 career digs. Cusack needs 207 more to tie former Kentucky player Jenni Casper for second place in league career annals.
- Sophomore right-side/setter Kelly Murphy has three triple-doubles this season to lead the SEC and holds the Florida career record in that category with nine.
