UF volleyball team heads west on a mission
Tuesday, November 16, 2010 | Soccer, Volleyball, Scott Carter
I stopped by the Lemerand Athletics Center earlier this afternoon to interview volleyball players Erin Fleming and Kelly Murphy for a story later this week.
Both have wrapping up the SEC title outright on their minds.
The No. 1-ranked Gators (24-1, 17-0 SEC) have three regular-season matches remaining, starting Friday night at Arkansas.
The Gators have won 19 consecutive matches and are seeking to finish undefeated in SEC play for the first time in seven years. More importantly, the Gators can clinch the SEC title outright with one more victory.
In their regular-season home finale on Sunday, the Gators honored seniors Fleming, Lauren Bledsoe and Callie Rivers.
“You have three players playing the best volleyball of their careers,'' UF volleyball coach Mary Wise said. “The script couldn't have gone any better. It was really a very memorable day.”
After they left the O'Connell Center on Sunday, the team learned that Kentucky had defeated LSU, clinching the Gators a share of the SEC title.
The Gators now head to face Arkansas and LSU on the road this weekend searching to win their 19th SEC title. Wise said the Gators are a different team than the one that beat the two SEC West rivals in early October.
“We have gotten so much better since we last played those two teams,'' she said. “We are playing for a lot. We have a lot at stake.''
