No. 5 Gators Open 2009 SEC Slate Friday at Ole Miss
Thursday, September 17, 2009 | Volleyball
The 18-time Southeastern Conference Champion Florida volleyball team, ranked No. 5 in the nation, opens defense of its NCAA-record league title streak on Friday when it travels to Oxford, Miss., to face Ole Miss. Opening serve is set for 8 p.m. ET and the match will be carried live on ROCK 104 FM with Cory Stephens. Live video for the match will be available on GatorVision Online, courtesy of RebelVision.
For the fourth consecutive year, the SEC volleyball schedule will be a double round-robin format in which each team plays the other 10 league schools both home and away in lieu of an SEC Tournament.
“Ole Miss has been one of those teams that has always played so well at home,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “In the past few years, they have had a philosophy of relentless pursuit. Balls just don't land on the floor. In addition to their defense, they have become a really good blocking team. We understand that, as the season is played in a double round-robin with so many great players in the league with 25 point sets, on any given night, there isn't a team that isn't capable of beating any other team in this league.”
The Gators (6-1) are on the road for the third consecutive week after having competed in the 31st Community Bankers Classic in Stockton, Calif., Sept. 4-5 and the Tampa Twice Tournament in Tampa, Fla., Sept. 11-12.
Junior Florida right-side Lauren Bledsoe (Long Beach, Calif.) leads the SEC and ranks 27th in the nation in hitting percentage with a .407 clip. Sophomore outside hitter Colleen Ward (Naperville, Ill.) averages a squad-best 3.37 kills per set, which ranks seventh in the league, while sophomore outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) follows with 2.85 kills per set.
Sophomore middle blocker Cassandra Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif.) ranks tied for fifth in the SEC in blocks per set with 1.15. Senior libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.), who ranks fourth on the SEC's all-time career digs list, is fifth in the league with 4.04 digs per set this year.
The Gators are 21-4 all-time in league openers, including a perfect 18-0 mark under Wise's direction.
UF and Ole Miss meet for the 38th time in the history of the two programs with Florida holding a 34-3 lead in the all-time series. UF is 28-0 vs. the Rebels under Wise, as Ole Miss is one of four SEC teams that Wise has never lost to during her tenure at Florida.
The Rebels enter Friday's match in third place in the SEC Western Division with a 6-4 overall record. Sophomore outside hitter Katie Norris leads the SEC in kills per set with 4.51, while sophomore defensive specialist Morgan Springer is fourth in the SEC in digs per set with 4.19.
The Gators are 35-2 (.944) in Wise's tenure in regular-season matches following a loss and Florida has not dropped back-to-back matches since falling to Colorado State and Penn State in consecutive nights during the 2000 National Association for Collegiate Women's Athletics Administrator's Tournament.
Complete results and a recap of the match will be available at www.GatorZone.com.
For all of the latest information on Florida Volleyball, please log on to www.GatorZone.com/volleyball. Follow the Gators on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GatorZoneVB and Coach Mary Wise on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GatorMary.
The University of Florida is home to the 2009 NCAA Volleyball Regional. For ticket information, log on to www.GatorZone.com/tickets.
QUICK NOTES
- Florida and Ole Miss meet for the 38th time in program history with the Gators holding a 34-3 advantage, including a 28-0 mark under Mary Wise.
- The Gators' 584 wins since 1991 are the most of any team in the nation during that time period.
- Florida was picked in a vote by the SEC's 11 head coaches to win their 19th consecutive league championship during the 2009 campaign.
- Senior libero Elyse Cusack is Florida's all-time career digs leader with 1,743 career scoops. She needs five more digs to move into third place on the SEC's all-time career digs list.
- Junior right-side Lauren Bledsoe leads the SEC in hitting percentage with a .407 clip.
- Sophomore right-side/setter Kelly Murphy has seven career triple-doubles, which is the Florida school record in that category.
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