Florida Gators
Illinois
Eight is Great! Gators Advance to NCAA Regional Final Following Five-Set Thriller Over Illinois
Saturday, December 13, 2014 | Volleyball
Post-Match Press Conference (Wise, Dagostino, Joseph) | 2014 NCAA Volleyball Interactive Bracket | UF vs. Illinois Box and Quotes
AMES, Iowa -- No. 8 Seed Florida downed No. 9 Seed Illinois in a five-set thriller (25-22, 21-25, 22-25, 25-17, 16-14) at Hilton Coliseum in Ames Friday evening to advance to the program's 14th NCAA Volleyball Regional Final. The Gators (28-3) meet No. 1 Seed Stanford (32-1) Saturday evening at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU for a trip to the Final Four in Oklahoma City Dec. 18-20.
The Orange and Blue used double-doubles from freshman middle Rhamat Alhassan (15K, 10B), junior setter Mackenzie Dagostino (51A, 10D) and sophomore right side Alex Holston (18K, 10D) to propel a comeback after Illinois went up 2-1 in the match. Florida took set four, 25-17, to force a fifth and gutted out a 16-14 decision in the final frame to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2011.
Florida's back row held it down to stifle the Illini attack, as seniors Holly Pole (19) and Maddy Monserez (16) joined Dagostino and Holston in double-digit digs. Illinois became the 22nd UF opponent the Gators have limited to a .197 or lower hitting efficiency this season. Florida improved to 6-2 against ranked opponents this season, including six straight.
Sophomore Sha?nah Joseph provided a spark for the Orange and Blue off the bench with seven errorless kills on 13 attempts for a career-high .538 hitting efficiency. Joseph added five blocks for 9.5 points towards the Gators' tally. Alhassan tied a career high with 10 blocks at the net and Holston led the Orange and Blue in slams for the 20th time this season. Holston has had double-digit kill performances in 11 of UF's last 12 tilts. Dagostino made it two straight 51-assist matches and has had 50+ assists in three of UF's last four matches.
The Gators added their 23rd straight victory with the five-set win over the Illini, the longest streak in the country. UF will make its 14th Regional Final appearance Saturday evening and will aim for its eighth Final Four berth in program history. UF last advanced to the National Semifinals and played for the National Championship in 2003.
GETTING WISE
“The eight-nine match-up lived up to its billing. It was an elite level performance by both teams, gutsy, gritty play from the very beginning of the match. If we played 10 times, it would go five and five. I thought Illinois was terrific and we knew that between Birks and McMahon, those are some high heavy arms. We thought yesterday that the match would come down to two-offensive teams and some big time blockers. The difference in the match was that we out-passed Illinois, statistically. I think that the result that comes down to two points in the fifth set.”
AMES REGIONAL FINAL SCHEDULE
· Regional Finals | Saturday, Dec. 12, 9 p.m. ET (Florida vs. Stanford) (ESPNU -- Beth Mowins & Karch Kiraly)
NCAA REGIONAL FINAL BROADCAST INFORMATION
No. 1 Seed Stanford (potential Regional Finals opponent | 9 p.m. Dec. 13)
FLORIDA | STANFORD SERIES HISTORY
· 2014 Record: 32-1
· Series History: Stanford leads, 5-4 (3-5 under Mary Wise)
• 3-set: 2-1; 4-set: 1-2; 5-set: 1-2
• Home: 1-1 | Away: 1-1 | Neutral: 2-3
· Last Time Out: Sept. 7, 2013 at Austin (Nike Big Four) | W, 3-1 (28-26, 25-17, 18-25, 25-22)
· NCAA Tournament History: Stanford leads, 2-0
• Dec. 12, 2008 at Fort Collins | Stanford 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-21) in Regional Semi
• Dec. 4, 2004 at Tallahassee | Stanford 3-2 (25-30, 30-15, 21-30, 30-27, 15-9) in NCAA Second Round
FLORIDA NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTABLES
· Florida advances to the Regional Finals for the 14th time in school history and the first time since 2011
· Florida is now 14-8 (.636) all-time in the Regional Semifinals Round and is 7-6 (.538) all-time in Regional Finals matches heading into Saturday's showdown
· Florida has made seven Final Four appearances, last in 2003, when the Gators played for the National Championship
· Florida played for the National Championship in 2003 and last reached a NCAA Regional Final in 2011
· Florida head coach Mary Wise is 61-23 (.726) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, with all postseason appearances occurring at the University of Florida
· The Gators are now 62-24 (.721) all-time in the NCAA Tournament
· Florida's 2014 NCAA Tournament appearance is its 24th consecutive and the 25th in program history and UF played host to opening round contests for the 22nd time in the last 24 years
· No. 8 seed Florida was 9-3 this season against the 2014 NCAA Tournament field during the regular season
· In 2013, the Gators went 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament, sweeping Jacksonville in First Round action (25-19, 25-15, 25-16) before falling in five to FSU (15-25, 25-20, 25-22, 22-25, 9-15) in the Second Round. 2013 marked just the second year under Wise the Gators did not advance to Regionals (2004)
· The 2014 NCAA Volleyball Final Four is slated for December 18 (National Semifinals) & 20 (National Championship) in Oklahoma City, Okla., and will be hosted by the Big 12 Conference and the Oklahoma City All Sports Association at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The National Semifinals and Finals will be broadcast live on ESPN2
· Florida enters the 2014 NCAA Tournament having notched its 24th consecutive 25-win season, and with three wins would have its 10th 30-win season in program history. The Gators downed No. 3 Texas in Austin Nov. 29 to cap of the regular season at 25-3 overall after going an undefeated 18-0 in SEC play to claim the program's 21st SEC Championship. Florida's undefeated SEC season was its 13th in school history
FLORIDA NCAA-TOURNAMENT SPECIFIC NOTABLES
· Florida enters the NCAA Regional Final match against Stanford riding a 23-match win streak, the longest in the country (next Wisconsin 22). Florida has won every match since falling in five to Marquette Sept. 19 at home in the O'Connell Center, including a perfect 18-0 in SEC play
· The Gators last strung together at least a 23-game win streak in 2010 when Florida went an undefeated 20-0 in SEC and continued for 24-straight wins from Sept. 11, 2010-Dec. 4, 2010 before falling short to Purdue in NCAA Tourney play
· The Gators have held 22 of their 2014 opponents to operate below a .197 hitting efficiency. The Gators limited 16 of 18 SEC opponents under .197
· Florida is 6-2 against top-25 opponents in 2014 and boasts three senior defensive specialists that anchor the team, two of whom are walk-ons (Maddy Monserez & Holly Pole)
· UF entered the 2014 NCAA Tournament ranked second in the nation with a .323 hitting efficiency, paced by freshman Rhamat Alhassan's .471 clip – which led the NCAA individually heading into the 2014 NCAA Regional round
· IOWA STATE CONNECTION: At age 21, Mary Wise became the youngest Division I head coach ever hired when she became head coach at Iowa State in 1981 following her undergrad career at Purdue. Wise went 81-63 (.563) in four seasons at the helm of the Iowa State program from 1981-84
· BLUE HAIR RIBBONS: In honor of Sophia and sister Andrea, who the team became close with on their annual Thanksgiving trip to Shands/UF Health. Sophia, 10, has cancer and her sister Andrea, 12, was a match for Sophia's bone marrow transplant
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