No. 6 Gators Face First SEC Foes in the O'Dome
Friday, September 23, 2011 | Volleyball
The No. 6 Florida volleyball team returns home after three weeks away from the Stephen C. O' Connell Center as the Gators play host to the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers this weekend. Opening serve for the Gators and the Wildcats is set for 7 p.m. EST on Friday and fans can listen in on Country 103.7 The Gator with longtime play-by-play analyst Tom Collett and former Gator All-SEC setter Missy Whittemore calling the action.
Florida will then take on Tennessee in the Orange and Blue's first nationally televised game of 2011, with the Gators and the Lady Vols facing off on ESPNU at 5 p.m. EST live on Sunday. Sam Gore and former Georgia Bulldog and three-time All-SEC outside hitter Maria Taylor are on the call, with Collett and Whittemore broadcasting live on Sportsradio 850.
The Gators are coming off a three-set sweep of Mississippi State on the road, as Florida was led by AVCA National Player of the Week Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) with her 25th career triple-double, as the Lowe's Senior CLASS candidate registered 10 kills, 19 assists and 11 digs on .526 hitting to lead the Gators to victory.
Senior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) had a match-high 14 kills and junior right-side hitter Tangerine Wiggs (Seattle, Wash.) contributed 10 kills and five blocks. Redshirt freshman libero Taylor Unroe (Muncie, Ind.) had her fourth consecutive match with double-digit digs with 15 and freshman defensive specialist Madison Monserez (Orlando, Fla.) started the first match of her career and added seven digs.
The Gators lead the SEC in hitting percentage (.279) and opponent hitting percentage (.118), and are second in service aces (1.72/set). Florida is also third in blocks with 2.47/set. Senior right-side/setter Murphy leads the conference in service aces, averaging .50/set this fall, while posting a .357 hitting percentage, good for seventh in the SEC. Wiggs is second in the conference in hitting percentage with a .378 hitting clip, while Jaeckel is eighth in the SEC in kills with 3.20/set and also ranks eighth in points with 3.80/set.
Florida is the defending Southeastern Conference Champions and the Gators have won 19 SEC titles, including 18 consecutive from 1991-2008. Florida won the first undefeated SEC title since changing to a double round robin format in 2006. The Gators have only dropped six matches combined to Kentucky and Tennessee under head coach Mary Wise (UF leads UK: 43-9; UF leads UT: 42-9).
The Wildcats and the Lady Volunteers swept their opening weekends of conference play, with both teams defeating Georgia and Auburn and only losing a set between them. Kentucky leads the SEC in blocks with 2.56/set, ranking 31st in the country. The Wildcats are second in the SEC and top 20 in the nation in both kills per set (14.3) and assists per set (13.27). The Wildcats and the Lady Volunteers are receiving votes in both the AVCA Division I Coaches Poll and the Volleyball Magazine Division I Poll.
Kentucky is led by junior libero Stephanie Klefot, who is a two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Week in 2011, while freshman defensive specialist Jackie Napper was tabbed the SEC Freshman of the Week in the first week of the season. Klefot leads the SEC in digs per set with 5.16, good for 31st in the country. Senior middle blocker Becky Pavan was named Preseason All-SEC along with Klefot.
Tennessee has won its last five straight, including head coach Rob Patrick's 300th career win in a sweep of Georgia. The Lady Volunteers are led by sophomore Kelsey Robinson, who notched 30 kills, 20 digs and three aces in the opening weekend of SEC play, including recording her seventh double-double of the year. Her 20 kill performance against the Bulldogs ranks second in UT history for the number of kills in a three-set match. Robinson leads the SEC and is fifth in the country with 5.66 points/set and her 4.86 kills per set leads the SEC and ranks eighth in the nation. The Lady Vols' freshman setter Mary Pollmiller is second in the SEC and 16th in the nation in assists per set with 11.51.
