Gators in a Good Place at Midway Point of SEC Schedule
Saturday, October 25, 2014 | Volleyball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Most expected the matchup Friday night at the O'Connell Center between Missouri, the defending SEC volleyball champion, and Florida, the conference front-runner this season, to be different than their meetings a year ago.
The Tigers beat the Gators twice in 2013. Heck, they beat everybody. Almost everybody. Missouri stormed to a 35-0 record until a stunning loss to Purdue in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
But the Missouri team that stepped onto the court Friday night was minus two of last year's stars: departed All-American Lisa Henning and Molly Kreklow, considered one of the finest setters in NCAA history.
"You take what they graduated last year, put them on any team in the country, and that team would be in the NCAA Tournament,'' Florida coach Mary Wise said. "That's how good those players were. How great they were."
Of course, the Gators lost a pair of premiere talents as well in 2012 SEC Player of the Year Chloe Mann and setter Taylor Brauneis.
Still, even with that backdrop in place for the only regular-season meeting between the schools this season, few would have predicted how different Friday's match would play out.
The Gators (15-3, 9-0) dominated from start to finish, sweeping the Tigers 25-17, 25-19, 25-13 to keep their perfect conference record intact at the SEC schedule's midway point. It was Florida's seventh sweep in nine SEC wins.
Outside hitters Gabby Mallette and Ziva Recek each registered 11 kills, taking some of the pressure off right-side hitter Alex Holston (seven kills).
Setter Mackenzie Dagostino was in position all night and so were her passes. She had more assists (35) than Missouri (30) as a team.
Defensive specialist Holly Pole did what she does, recording a team-high 13 digs.
And freshman middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan played like a Redwood looming over the forest, finishing with a game-high 14 kills and .591 hitting percentage.
Not long after their sweat had dried and they mingled with fans and family while basking in perhaps their finest all-around performance of the season, the Gators sounded pleased at a plan executed to near perfection.
The Tigers (13-10, 4-4 SEC) might not be as dangerous as a year ago, but with a frontline featuring one of the conference's top trios in Whitney Little, Emily Wilson and Carly Kan, the Gators braced for a difficult challenge all week during intense practice sessions.
"Our team responded,'' Wise said. "In the second set when Missouri was serving so well, we really had to rely on our left sides, and Gabby and Ziva came through. As good a match from those two we've had all year -- easily."
The Gators didn't say it, but they could have. They made Friday's win look easy.
Mackenzie Dagastino sets up a shot during Friday's victory over Missouri. (Photo: Jim Burgess)
"We prepared really well,'' Recek said. "We started off well, really focused, and that's how the whole game went. We had control on our side throughout the whole game."
Five points into the opening set and Tigers coach Wayne Kreklow burned a timeout. He used another one with Florida up 15-7.
He could have saved them. The Gators were on top of their game.
The Tigers kept it closer in the second set, tying the match 12-12 on a kill by Kasey Reuter. Florida closed on a 13-7 run to go up 2-0. The Gators reeled off six consecutive points after falling behind 1-0 in the third set.
Game over.
While Missouri obviously misses Henning and Kreklow from last year's team, the Gators are doing just fine without Mann and Brauneis.
A big reason why -- 6-foot-4 to be precise -- is Alhassan.
Eighteen games into her college career and there is no doubt Alhassan is an elite talent. Her presence Friday showcased as much as anything the different directions the Gators and Tigers are heading.
"One long, tall, quick-jumping, athletic, growing middle [blocker] who just keeps getting better each time out,'' said Wise when asked what she saw from Alhassan on Friday.
How much Alhassan and the Gators improve in the second half of the SEC schedule will likely determine how far they go in the postseason.
Dagostino quickly dismissed a question about the Gators looking at Missouri as a midseason test the Gators aced.
"Not at all. Missouri was a team that challenged us a lot,'' she said. "They only lost two players. It was just making sure that we bettered ourselves and we did our part to beat them. And that's exactly what you saw. Every inch of the game was completely on point.
"It's all about bettering the Gators. Tonight everything was clicking. We had great defense, great passing, great setting, great hitting, great serving -- having all that click really threw us ahead."
Wise has been around long enough to know not to make more out of Friday's dominant performance than another midseason conference victory.
Even a rookie like Alhassan understands that.
"We have a lot to do in practice and we are just going to keep working at it, but I feel like we're in a good place,'' she said.
The goal now is to get to a better place.
If there is anything the Gators will take from this win, it's that.
"Can we be a better Gator team each time out?" Wise said. "That's all we're focusing on. Not the record. Not the standings."
Being in a good place -- and first place in the SEC -- is a good start.
