Florida Volleyball Notebook: Aug. 13, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010 | Volleyball
The adjustment from high school to college can be overwhelming for any 18-year-old, but throw in preparing to be one of the leaders of the Florida volleyball team's offense as a freshman, and it's certainly enough to keep rookie setter Chanel Brown (Tempe, Ariz.) busy.
Following the second of Friday's two practices at the L. Gale Lemerand Center on Friday, Florida head coach Mary Wise said that, despite having to process and put into practice a lot of new material, Brown has impressed during the team's first week of its preseason training camp.
"We've seen some really good things from Chanel," Wise said. "There has been so much thrown at her in such a short amount of time. We're definitely seeing the light come on. She has really shown improvement both offensively and defensively."
The transition is especially impressive for Brown, who has spent the majority of her career at the outside hitter position, including her entire four years in at Valley Christian High School. Playing at an elite level is nothing new for Brown, however, who led the nation in kills as a senior with 7.0 per game, according to MaxPreps.com. She was a 2009 AVCA All-American and was a four-time first-team All-State selection.
Meanwhile, Brown honed her setting craft as a member of the Spiral Volleyball Club.
"For Chanel, this is even more elite because she played outside hitter for her high school team," Wise said. "To be able to go from that to setting in college, we're fortunate that she had that club season in between, setting in a really good program to gain that experience."
Wise compared the adjustment of a setter from high school to college to that of a football signal-caller.
"The analogy is to that of a quarterback in football," Wise said. "The college game is much faster and you're having to make so many more decisions. It's a big learning curve, but Chanel has been making a steep climb."
The Gators begin their 2010 campaign Aug. 28-29, when they travel to Omaha, Neb., to participate in the prestigious AVCA Showcase, where they will face Big 12 Conference foes Iowa State and Nebraska.
For all of the latest information on Florida volleyball, please log on to www.GatorZone.com/volleyball. Follow Florida Volleyball on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GatorZoneVB and Coach Mary Wise on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GatorMary.
REMINDER: FAN DAY – AUGUST 21
Florida volleyball will host its annual Fan Day and Orange & Blue Scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 21 in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Gates open at 12:30 p.m. and autographs with players and student-athletes begin at 1 p.m. The intra-squad scrimmage will take place at approximately 2 p.m.
SEC PRESEASON INFORMATION RELEASED NEXT WEEK
The Southeastern Conference will announce its Preseason All-SEC Team next Tuesday, Aug. 17 and its SEC Preseason Poll on Wednesday, Aug. 18. Full information will be available at GatorZone.com following the conference's official announcements.
