No. 17 Gators Prepare for Homecoming Weekend
Friday, November 4, 2011 | Volleyball
The No. 17 Florida volleyball team returns home for its first full home weekend in a month, as the Gators take on Ole Miss and Alabama over Homecoming weekend. On Friday, the Orange and Blue face the Crimson Tide at 4 p.m. at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, with Cory Stephens and former Gator All-SEC setter Missy Whittemore on the call on GatorZone.com.
On Sunday, the Gators take on the Rebels at 2 p.m. on CSS/CST. Bernie Guenther and Whittemore will broadcast the action while Gator fans can tune in to Country 103.7 The Gator with Stephens and Tom Collett on the call.
Florida is looking to rebound after its first losing SEC weekend in program history, falling to No. 20 Tennessee and No. 24 Kentucky on the road. Lowe's Senior CLASS Award nominee Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) had a strong showing on Friday night, earning a double-double with 28 assists and 14 digs. Five Gators had double-digit kills against the Wildcats on Sunday, including a career performance for sophomore middle blocker Chloe Mann (Gainesville, Fla.), who had a career high 10 kills and five blocks against Kentucky.
The Gators currently lead the conference and are second in the nation in hitting percentage (.303). Florida also leads the SEC in opponent hitting percentage (.166) and service aces (1.65/set), which is 14th in the NCAA.
Senior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) ranks in the SEC's top-10 in four statistical categories, including hitting percentage (.299 - 7th), kills (3.52/set - 6th), points (4.26/set - 4th) and service aces (.36/set – 3rd). Murphy ranks in the top-10 in the SEC in service aces (.37/set - 2nd), hitting percentage (.317 - 6th) and assists (5.94/set - 10th). Redshirt freshman libero Taylor Unroe (Muncie, Ind.) is 10th in the SEC in service aces (.26/set) and eighth in digs (3.56/set).
Junior right-side hitter Tangerine Wiggs (Seattle, Wash.) is third in hitting percentage with a .331 hitting clip, junior middle blocker Betsy Smith (Atlanta, Ga.) is third in the league in blocks with 1.04/set and senior middle blocker Cassandra Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif.) is ninth in the SEC in hitting percentage, posting a .295 clip.
Alabama is 11-14 on the season and 4-10 in SEC competition. The Crimson Tide are led by Kayla Fitterer, who averages 4.12 kills/set, good for third in the SEC. Alabama runs a 6-2 offense, with Stephanie Riley and Andrea McQuaid averaging 5.39 and 5.37 assists/set, respectively. The Crimson Tide are third in the league in digs, averaging a whopping 15.7 per set.
Ole Miss is 8-14 on the year and 4-10 in conference play, as the Rebels are currently on a three-match winning streak after dropping nine matches straight. Ole Miss is led by junior outside hitter Allegra Wells, who has 2.58 kills/set in 2011. Setter Amanda Philpot runs the offense, as she has 735 assists on the year thus far, good for 8.55/set. Senior middle blocker Regina Thomas is second in the SEC in blocks/set with 1.07.
The Gators are undefeated all-time against Alabama, with Florida taking all 35 meetings against the Crimson Tide, including a 33-0 record under Gator head coach Mary Wise. Against Ole Miss, Florida holds a 39-3 record all-time, including an undefeated 33-0 streak under Wise.
