No. 8 Gators Hit the Road for a Family Affair at South Carolina Wednesday on ESPNU
Tuesday, October 14, 2014 | Volleyball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The No. 8 Gators will play their third match in a span of six days Wednesday when the Orange and Blue hit the road for the Palmetto State for a mid-week clash at South Carolina. The Gators (12-3, 6-0 SEC) and Gamecocks (13-4, 3-2 SEC) will square off at 6 p.m. at the Carolina Volleyball Center in front of a national television audience on ESPNU, with Paul Sunderland and Hannah Werth on the call.
Wednesday's match will offer a bit of a family feel, as Florida sophomore right side and reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week Alex Holston and senior defensive specialist Maddy Monserez will square off with family members on the opposite side of the net. Holston's cousin, Darian Dozier, is a junior middle blocker for the Gamecocks, while Monserez's sister is South Carolina freshman setter Allie Monserez.
Not only will the quartet square off in Columbia Wednesday, but the Gamecocks will visit Gainesville on Nov. 26, which happens to be Maddy's Senior Night in the O'Connell Center.
UF, which ranks No. 8 in both the AVCA Division I Top-25 Poll and in this week's RPI rankings, owns the fifth-best hitting efficiency in the nation entering the match up (.298) with the Gamecocks. The Gators are led by the SEC's individual hitting efficiency leader this season, freshman middle Rhamat Alhassan, the SEC Freshman of the Week who ranks second in the NCAA with her .475 clip.
South Carolina is coming off a 3-1 loss at Alabama Sunday, and has SEC wins against Ole Miss (3-2), Mississippi State (3-0) and Auburn (3-2) so far in conference play. The Gamecocks will play their first home match since Sept. 28 on Wednesday.
Florida was 16-2 last season in league play and finished second in the conference standings. Under Wise, Florida is 364-18 (.953) in SEC play. The Gators own 20 SEC Championships, including 18 straight from 1991-2008.
SOUTH CAROLINA BROADCAST INFORMATION
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| Match Time | tv | Live Stats | Radio |
| No. 8 Florida | south carolina | 6:00 p.m. |
FLORIDA | SOUTH CAROLINA | FLORIDA MATCH NOTES
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15 | CAROLINA VOLLEYBALL CENTER | 6:00 p.m. ET
· 2014 Overall Record: 13-4, 3-2 SEC
· Series Record: Florida leads, 49-7 (43-2 under Mary Wise)
• 3-set: 37-2; 4-set: 9-4; 5-set: 3-1
• Home: 25-1 | Away: 22-5 | Neutral: 2-1
· Last Time Out: Nov. 13, 2013 at Gainesville | W, 3-0 (25-15, 25-9, 25-22)
· Last Win at Columbia: Sept. 28, 2012 | W, 3-1 (25-14, 25-23, 21-25, 25-17)
FLORIDA STORYLINES
· One of two undefeated teams in SEC play thus far along with No. 12 Kentucky, the No. 8 Gators are coming off two conference sweeps of Georgia (25-14, 25-15, 25-16) and No. 19 Texas A&M (25-12, 25-23, 25-17) at home in Gainesville Oct. 10 & 12
· With the win over the Aggies, the Gators are now 3-2 this season against top-25 opponents
· The Orange and Blue will look to build on a season-best seven-match win streak in Columbia on Wednesday, the second-longest win streak in the SEC behind the Wildcats' 10-match win streak
· Florida has dropped just one set in SEC play (3-1 win at LSU Oct. 3), and has five sweeps otherwise
· The Gators have limited 10 opponents this season to a .197 hitting efficiency or lower, including all six SEC opponents thus far
A FAMILY AFFAIR | FLORIDA, SOUTH CAROLINA TIES
· The South Carolina/Florida mid-week clash features two sets of families squaring off on different sides of the net. Florida sophomore All-American right side Alex Holston is first cousins with South Carolina junior middle blocker Darian Dozier -- and thus first cousins with South Carolina graduate assistant Kristen Dozier
· Florida senior defensive specialist Maddy Monserez's younger sister, Allie Monserez, is a freshman setter for the Gamecocks. Not only will the Monserez duo square off in Columbia, but the Gamecocks will visit Gainesville on Nov. 26, which happens to be Maddy's Senior Night in the O'Connell Center
WHO'S HOT?
· UF sophomore right side Alex Holston picked up SEC Offensive Player of the Week accolades, while freshman middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan, who ranks second in the NCAA with a .475 hitting efficiency, was tabbed the SEC Freshman of the Week, as both led the Orange and Blue to sweeps over Georgia and No. 19 Texas A&M
· Under Alhassan and Holston's watch, Florida pumped out its second-best offensive efficiency in conference play (.395) against the Aggies Sunday, while the Gators' potent defense limited Texas A&M to a .119 hitting efficiency. Holston led all players on the court against Texas A&M, slammed down 13 kills, scooped up a career-tying seven digs and posted three blocks in the three-set win
· Alhassan, who led Florida over the weekend with a .467 clip, 4.00 points per set and 1.67 blocks per set, notched 10 kills and six blocks in Sunday's showdown against the Aggies after turning in a staggering .636 hitting efficiency as the Gators blanked Georgia Friday. For Alhassan, her .636 clip against UGA marked her sixth time this season above a .600 efficiency. She additionally registered a team-best 11.0 points against the Bulldogs with her eight kills and four roofs
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