No. 5/5 Gators Face Pacific in Bankers Classic Championship
Saturday, September 5, 2009 | Volleyball
Following a thrilling five-set victory against No. 11/12 Stanford, the No. 5/5 Florida volleyball team returns to action on Saturday when it faces Pacific in the championship match of the 31st Annual Community Bankers Classic. Opening serve is set for 10 p.m. ET in the Alex G. Spanos Center and the match will be carried live on GatorZone.com with Cory Stephens, courtesy of Yahoo! Sports. Live video also will be available for free through BigWest.TV.
The Gators (4-0) are coming off a dramatic five-set win vs. Stanford on Friday night. Florida trailed 24-21 at match point in the fourth set, rallied to win that frame 27-25 and went on to claim the match in five sets. Sophomore right-side/setter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) registered her seventh career triple-double with 14 kills, a match-high 28 assists and 10 digs.
Sophomore outside hitter Colleen Ward (Naperville, Ill.), who registered a team-high 16 kills in Florida's win against Stanford, leads the way for the Gators, averaging a squad-best 3.31 kills per set, which ranks fifth in the Southeastern Conference. Three Florida players rank in the league's top 10 for kills as Jaeckel is eighth with 3.12 kills per set and Murphy is 10th with 3.06 put-downs per set.
Junior right-side/middle blocker Lauren Bledsoe (Long Beach, Calif.) leads the SEC in hitting percentage with a .509 clip. Bledsoe has tallied double-figure kills in two consecutive matches, including 13 kills on .500 hitting vs. Stanford on Friday night.
Senior libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.), Florida's all-time career digs leader, ranks tops on the squad and third in the conference in digs per set with 3.94. Murphy is eighth in the league in assists per set with 6.00, while junior setter Brynja Rodgers (Iowa City, Iowa) ranks 10th in the league with 5.25 dishes per set.
The Gators are meeting Pacific (4-0) for the eighth time in school history and the second consecutive season. The Tigers lead the all-time series 6-1 with Florida's lone win in the series coming last season in Gainesville when the Gators posted a 3-0 sweep.
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