Volleyball Sweeps Through Spring Competition at Home
Saturday, April 11, 2009 | Volleyball
The University of Florida volleyball team, playing its lone home event of the 2009 spring season, won five of six matches played against intra-state foes Florida International, Florida State and Miami on Saturday at the Florida Gym.
Florida began the day with a 2-0 (25-21, 27-25) victory against Florida International before rallying from a one-set deficit against Florida State to post a 2-1 (21-25, 25-21, 15-10) win. The Gators closed out the morning session by notching a 2-0 (25-23, 25-22) victory against Miami.
Florida opened the afternoon session with a 2-1 (17-25, 25-17, 13-15) loss against the Hurricanes before sweeping the Golden Panthers for the second time with a 2-0 (25-14, 25-20) victory. The Gators then staged an impressive rally in both the second and third sets against Florida State in the afternoon's final match to post a 2-1 (23-25, 25-23, 16-14) come-from-behind victory against the rival Seminoles.
“What we try to do with our spring competition is to use it as feedback for areas of improvement and concern,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “This spring, we placed a lot of emphasis on points scoring, serving, kills and blocking. We are a much better blocking team right now than we were in the fall. Blocking is a skill that really comes with experience and we are an older team now.
“What we have learned about spring competition is that it's not so much about the final score as it is about execution and technique,” Wise continued. “The question is 'Are we getting better in all of the areas that we have been working on?' and the answer is 'Yes.'”
The Gators end their 2009 spring indoor season with a 9-2 record.
“Today was a lot of fun,” Florida libero Elyse Cusack said. “It was a great learning experience and we got a lot better. The spring season is always a great opportunity for us to improve and I thought we did that today.”
Florida will close out its spring slate on Saturday, April 18, when it travels to Siesta Key, Fla., to participate in the second-annual Southeastern Conference Coaches Beach Volleyball Championships as part of the Fiesta on Siesta Key.
The University of Florida is home of the 2009 NCAA Volleyball Regionals. For more information on Gator Volleyball, log on to www.GatorZone.com.
Volleyball Results - Saturday, April 11, 2009 - Gainesville, Fla. (Florida Gym)
10 a.m. matches
Florida def. FIU, 2-0 (25-21, 27-25)
FSU def. Miami, 2-0 (25-19, 25-23)
11 a.m. matches
Florida def. FSU, 2-1 (21-25, 25-21, 15-10)
Miami def. FIU, 2-0 (25-19, 25-21)
12 p.m. matches
Florida def. Miami, 2-0 (25-23, 25-22)
FIU def. FSU, 2-0 (25-19, 25-23)
2:30 p.m. matches
Miami def. Florida, 2-1 (17-25, 25-17, 13-15)
FSU def. FIU, 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 19-17)
3:30 p.m. matches
Florida def. FIU, 2-0 (25-14, 25-20)
FSU def. Miami, 2-0 (25-17, 25-23)
4:30 p.m. matches
Florida def. FSU, 2-1 (23-25, 25-23, 16-14)
FIU vs. Miami - DNP
END OF REPORT
