No. 9 Gators Open Season with Annual Campus USA Credit Union Invitational
Thursday, August 29, 2013 | Volleyball
The No. 9 Florida volleyball team opens the 2013 season by hosting their annual Campus USA Credit Union Invitational. The Gators welcome Duke, LIU Brooklyn and New Orleans to the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Friday-Saturday, August 30-31.
Preseason Buzz: Florida was picked to win the Southeastern Conference title in a preseason vote of the league's coaches, while senior middle blocker Chloe Mann and sophomore outside hitter éiva Recek were named Preseason All-SEC. Mann was also recently named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award.
They're Back: Florida returns 11 letterwinners and five starters from a year ago, including First Team All-American Mann, AVCA National Freshman of the Year Recek, AVCA Honorable Mention All-American setter Taylor Brauneis, 2013 SEC All-Freshman Team selection Gabby Mallette and 2012 SEC All-Freshman Team honoree Taylor Unroe.
New Faces: The Gators welcome newcomers in sophomore transfer setter Mackenzie Dagostino, freshman outside hitter Denise Belcher, freshman right-side hitter Alex Holston and freshman middle blocker Sha?nah Joseph.
Lights, Camera, Action: Florida will be on television 12 times during the course of the 2013 regular season, the most of any Southeastern Conference program. The Gators' first televised match is Saturday, September 7 against Stanford at the Nike Big Four Classic.
Last Time Out: The Gators are coming off their 20th Southeastern Conference title and 22nd consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, falling in the Sweet 16 to eventual NCAA Champion Texas.
Welcome Home: Gator fans might recognize one of the assistant coaches for LIU Brooklyn, as former Gator Jenny (Whitehead) Robinson will be returning to Gainesville this weekend. Robinson played just a year for the Gators during graduate school, leading Florida to the 1999 SEC title while nabbing the SEC Tournament MVP and First Team All-SEC honors. She earned her master's degree in sports communication from Florida in 2001. Robinson's husband, Kyle, is the head coach for the Blackbirds.
Mary's Minute: “We're going to play six times over the course of the next 10 days. We'll have plenty of an indication where we are this early in the season. What we do know is that with our returning players, especially our major point-scorers éiva and Chloe, we like where we are offensively and we're in a position to make strides defensively… ”
Head Coaching Records:
Florida Head Coach Mary Wise
At Florida: 686-80
All-Time: 767-143
Duke Head Coach Jolene Nagel
At Duke: 304-138
All-Time: 507-278
LIU Brooklyn Head Coach Kyle Robinson
At LIU Brooklyn: 96-68
All-Time: Same
New Orleans Head Coach Kim Young-Buford
At New Orleans: 20-46
All-Time: 154-128
Follow the Gators: For all of the latest information on Florida volleyball, please visit GatorZone. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Florida Volleyball (@GatorZoneVB) and Coach Mary Wise (@GatorMary) on Twitter. You can also find the Gators on Facebook.
Helpful Links:
Friday, August 30
10:00 A.M. Duke vs. LIU Brooklyn Live Stats
12:00 P.M. Florida vs. New Orleans Live Stats Radio GatorVision
5:30 P.M. New Orleans vs. Duke Live Stats
7:30 P.M. Florida vs. LIU Brooklyn Live Stats Radio GatorVision
Saturday, August 31
1:30 P.M. LIU Brooklyn vs. New Orleans Live Stats
4:00 P.M. Florida vs. Duke Live Stats Radio
