Gators Look For 19th Straight vs. Seminoles
Tuesday, September 21, 2010 | Volleyball
The No. 3 Florida volleyball team caps off a difficult stretch of eight meetings against ranked opponents in their first 10 matches on Wednesday when the Gators travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to take on No. 13 Florida State on Wednesday. Opening serve in Tully Gymnasium is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the match will be carried live on WRUF-AM 850 with Tom Collett.
The Gators (8-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) are looking for their 19th consecutive win against the Seminoles, a winning streak that dates back to the 1995 season. Florida and Florida State have met 48 previous times in the history of the two programs - the fifth-longest rivalry in UF school history. The Gators are 111-20 (.847) all-time vs. in-state schools, including a 63-2 (.969) mark against Sunshine State foes under the direction of head coach Mary Wise.
Florida has posted six wins already this season against teams ranked in the AVCA Top-25 Poll at the time of the match and the Gators are 6-1 against ranked foes in 2010. After beating then-No. 22 Kentucky and then-No. 18 Tennessee on the road last weekend, the Gators will be facing their third ranked opponent on the road for the first time in program history.
“When we looked at the schedule going into the season, we knew that this was the stretch that was going to be the most challenging, and that we would be playing these three teams consecutively,” Wise said. “In all our years here, we've never played three top-25 teams on the road in a row.”
Junior right-side/setter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.), the reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week, leads the Gators with 3.11 kills per set on .376 hitting with a squad-best 5.33 kills per set, 2.06 digs per set and 0.69 blocks per set. Junior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) and senior outside hitter Callie Rivers (Winter Park, Fla.) follow with 2.28 and 2.20 kills per set, respectively.
Senior middle blocker Lauren Bledsoe (Long Beach, Calif.) leads a powerful blocking brigade that features three players averaging better than 0.85 blocks per set. Bledsoe averages 1.11 blocks per set, while junior middle blocker Cassandra Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif.) follows with 1.06 blocks per set. Sophomore right-side Tangerine Wiggs (Seattle, Wash.), who charted a career-high 10 kills Sunday vs. Tennessee, adds 0.89 blocks per set.
Senior libero Erin Fleming (Orlando, Fla.) heads the team's back-row effort with 3.33 digs per set, while freshman setter Chanel Brown (Tempe, Ariz.) dishes out 4.97 assists per set.
The Gators and Seminoles meet for the 49th time in the history of the two programs with Florida holding a 32-16 advantage in the all-time series, including a 25-2 under Wise's direction. The Gators are 11-7 all-time when the match is played in Tallahassee.
Florida State is led by junior outside hitter Visnja Djurdjevic, who averages a squad-best 3.43 kills per set on .346 hitting. Senior outside hitter Stephanie Nevelle and junior outside hitter Jekaterina Stepanova follow with 2.66 and 2.50 kills per set, respectively. Senior libero Jenna Romanelli heads the team's back-row play with 3.79 digs per set, while sophomore middle blocker Sareea Freeman posts a squad-best 1.12 blocks per set as one of three Seminoles averaging better than 1.0 blocks per set.
Complete results and a recap of Wednesday's match will be available at www.GatorZone.com/volleyball or, for up-to-the-minute information, follow the team's Twitter account @GatorZoneVB or www.twitter.com/GatorZoneVB.
QUICK NOTES
· The Gators are 100-79 (.559) all-time vs. teams ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association top-25 poll at the time of the match. Florida is 6-1 this season against ranked foes.
· Florida's 611 wins since 1991 are the most of any team in the nation during that time period.
· The Gators check in at No. 3 in the latest AVCA poll for the second consecutive week. Florida began the season ranked No. 13 in the preseason poll.
· The 2010 campaign marks the 27th season of Florida volleyball (beginning 1984). The Gators are 767-168 (.820) all-time in program history.
· Junior right-side/setter Kelly Murphy turned in her 18th career triple-double on Sunday vs. then-No. 18 Tennessee. She holds the Florida school record in that category. Angie McGinnis (four career triple-doubles) is the only other Gator to record a triple-dip.
· Murphy currently ranks ninth on Florida's all-time career assists list with 1,562 career dishes. Accomplishing that in just 71 career matches is an impressive feat, considering she has spent all but six matches of her collegiate career in a 6-2 offensive scheme.
