Gators Face Wisconsin Saturday in Spring Matches
Friday, March 6, 2009 | Volleyball
The University of Florida volleyball team begins its 2009 spring season on Saturday when it travels to Chicago, Ill., to take on Big Ten Conference member Wisconsin in a pair of matches beginning at 11 a.m. EST.
The Gators finished the 2008 campaign with a 27-4 record and a No. 10 final national ranking. Florida won its 18th consecutive Southeastern Conference title and advanced to the NCAA regional semifinals for the 17th time in the last 18 years.
Florida is led by senior-to-be libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.), a four-time Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week selection in 2008 and an AVCA All-South Region honoree and All-America honorable mention selection. Cusack in 2008 led the team and was second in the SEC in digs per set with 4.59. She tallied double-figure digs in 27 of the team's 31 matches.
Right-side/setter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.), the 2008 AVCA National Freshman of the Year, returns after a year in which she averaged a squad-best 3.22 kills per set on a team-high .358 hitting percentage. She led the team in total points with 412.0 and also was second in both assists (5.50/set) and digs (1.88/set). She was eighth in the SEC in kills per set and second in hitting percentage. She dished out 20 or more assists on 15 occasions as part of a 6-2 offense, which ranked second in the league in both team hitting percentage (.253) and team assists (12.51).
Wisconsin finished its 2008 season with a 17-15 overall record, including a 7-13 mark in the Big Ten Conference, good for a seventh-place tie in the challenging league. The Badgers ranked fourth last year in the Big Ten in kills per set with 13.61 put-downs per set as a team.
Junior Brittney Dolgner ranked tops on the squad and eighth in the Big Ten with 3.39 kills per set last season, while sophomore libero Kim Kuzma averaged 4.26 digs per set, which ranked fifth in the league. The Badgers also return All-Big Ten Freshman Team members Janelle Gabrielsen and Ellie Ohlander.
A recap of Saturday's action will be available at www.GatorZone.com.
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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