Gators Set To Participate in Fiesta on Siesta Key
Friday, April 17, 2009 | Volleyball
The University of Florida volleyball team embarks on Siesta Key, Fla., on Saturday to participate in the second-annual Southeastern Conference Coaches Beach Volleyball Championships as part of the Fiesta on Siesta Key in Siesta Key, Fla. The event begins at 9:30 a.m. EST Saturday.
The SEC Coaches Beach Volleyball Championships, which were held for the first time in 2008 on the campus of the University of Florida, is the showcase event of the Fiesta on Siesta Key, which also includes the Collegiate Beach Volleyball Challenge.
“This is the second year we have participated in the SEC Coaches Beach Volleyball Championships,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “The game is different but there are so many ways that indoor players can get better by playing outdoors. With two players covering an entire court and playing on sand, you can't just rely on your athletic talents and your quickness, you have to read the other hitter and you have to have much more court vision. It's a different game and it's actually a harder game to play. We've been practicing on the sand courts at Southwest Rec once a week and if you ask the players, they love being outside.”
Each of the 11 schools of the SEC (Vanderbilt does not sponsor volleyball) are participating in the SEC Coaches Beach Volleyball Championships, while a handful of schools from several other conferences will compete in the Collegiate Beach Volleyball Challenge.
Beach volleyball was introduced to the collegiate scene by CBS College Sports Network with the Collegiate Nationals, an original event founded by the Network in the spring of 2006. That event is now in its fourth season. The coaches of the Southeastern and the Sunshine State Conferences followed with their beach tournaments in the spring of 2008.
The popularity of those events along with others that sprang up spontaneously around the country helped lead to the NCAA's Committee on Women's Athletics to recommend in the summer of 2008 that Sand Volleyball be added to the emerging sports list for women. Representatives from NCAA Division I and II will vote on that proposal this spring.
Florida will send 10 players to the Fiesta on Siesta Key, led by the No. 1 tandem of SEC All-Freshman Team selection Kristy Jaeckel and AVCA Honorable Mention All-America selection Elyse Cusack. This is the second year together for the pair, which also played at the No. 1 spot last season in the Inaugural SEC Coaches Beach Volleyball Championships.
Freshman setter/right side Kelly Murphy and freshman outside hitter Colleen Ward will play in the No. 2 slot for the Gators. Each was an All-Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team selection in 2008, as Murphy was the 2008 American Volleyball Coaches Association National Freshman of the Year.
Sophomore middle/right side Lauren Bledsoe and sophomore defensive specialist Erin Fleming make up the squad's No. 3 team. Freshman setter Cindy Bathelt and freshman middle blocker Betsy Smith will compete at No. 4, while Cassandra Anderson, the team's leading blocker in 2008, and defensive specialist Elissa Hausmann comprise the No. 5 squad.
For all of the latest information on Fiesta on Siesta Key, please log on to www.fiestaonsiestakey.com or www.secbeachvolleyball.com. In addition, all of the latest updates involving the Gators' participation in the event 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.
Florida Gators - Seeded Teams:
1. Kristy Jaeckel & Elyse Cusack
2. Kelly Murphy & Colleen Ward
3. Lauren Bledsoe & Erin Fleming
4. Cindy Bathelt & Betsy Smith
5. Cassandra Anderson & Elissa Hausmann
END OF REPORT
