Dagostino, Gators Set for Start of SEC Volleyball Play
Thursday, September 25, 2014 | Volleyball
By RJ Schaffer
GatorZone.com Writing Intern
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Before every home match, the Gators gather in the southeast corner of the O'Connell Center. There they stomp around, scream chants and get each other ready for another battle on the court.
And, while the leader of these huddles is always a senior, there's one player who seems to find a way to get everybody fired up: junior setter Mackenzie Dagostino.
“She's so intense,” outside hitter Carli Snyder said. “She's probably the most intense setter I've ever played with. Her energy; she's the first person you see after you get a kill, pointing at you and going crazy. That's really awesome to play with — especially because she's always trying to get better.”
Snyder, the freshman, would know better than anyone the type of person Dagostino is. The newcomers on the team are assigned an “older sister” who is a veteran player that helps make the additions feel at home.
Dagostino was tabbed for that role for Snyder. Three months before the season began, Snyder got a text she figured took “five minutes” to read, inviting her to come over, hang out, play with her dog and combat homesickness.
That was over the summer. Now, UF is well into the 2014 season, with the 10th-ranked Gators (6-3) entering Southeastern Conference play Friday night at Auburn (8-5), with the league home opener Sunday against Ole Miss at the O'Dome. The Rebels (14-0) are unbeaten heading into Friday's home match at South Carolina.
Time for the rookies to learn about SEC stomping, screaming and battling.
Welcoming new faces, challenges and opportunities is nothing new to Dagostino. She grew up in a volleyball gold mine of a family. Her dad is legendary volleyball coach Randy Dagostino, who coached for 28 years, led Tampa Berkeley Prep to 15 state titles and finished with 829 career wins.
Her mother, Lauri, played volleyball at USF and was a Florida Region Hall of Fame inductee in 2003. Her brother, Kyle, is entering his first year on the Stanford men's volleyball team.
“I am from a very competitive family,” she said. “When I was like 5 years old, my brother and I would play volleyball in the house, but we weren't allowed to use balls in the house, so we would play with balloons. We would break things with balloons. I was always growing up playing and doing games like who could eat their food the fastest.
“I've always had this competitive mindset and it makes it fun to share that with other people. I share that by being so energetic. Sometimes I think I can get a little too energetic, but I think it's a good thing in the same light because it's what every team needs.”
That competitive household environment led Dagostino to become a four-year letterwinner at Berkeley Prep. The success came in bunches, with three consecutive state titles, followed by the Andi Collins Award, given to the nation's top-prep setter, and a spot on the 2011-12 Under Armour All-America Second Team.
Gators setter Mackenzie Dagostino sets ball in Friday's match against Marquette. (Photo: Jim Burgess).
Instead of staying close to home, Dagostino took her talents to the University of Maryland, where she proceeded to lead or tie the team in assists in 14 matches, including 43 in a match against Florida State.
Despite the optimism of what looked to be a promising career as a Terrapin, she then transferred with the full knowledge that she would be playing for her third team in three years and one that already had one of the best setters in the nation in former starter Taylor Brauneis.
That only furthered Dagostino's development.
“Brauneis is great,” said Dagostino, who saw time in 24 matches backing up Brauneis last season, starting one, and finishing with 130 assists. “It's just fun playing against her and learning from her. Playing with Taylor helped me focus in more on the game and look for more specific things than just watching volleyball. We're still great friends, and she's an awesome volleyball player. I was really lucky to be with her for a year.”
Nobody knows more about having to replace star players than UF coach Mary Wise, who has seen her fair share of superstars come and go through the program.
“I think we've always said it's the second year of a transfer that they really have that opportunity to make a difference because the first year you're just getting used to all the changes and terminology,” Wise said.
“Mackenzie came to us right before training camp (last year) ... but because of her playing time and her work ethic this season, you could make an argument in the first month that she was our most improved player.”
Wise said Dagostino can make plays that few other setters can make because of her quickness and what Wise called “elite level” athleticism. Her competitiveness is something that Wise said has helped her become increasingly more comfortable with the team since she arrived.
So far, the change seems to be working just fine. She currently ranks 28th in the nation in assists per set with 11.06 — just over one assist less than Paige Brown of Appalachian State, who is the nation's leader at 12.52. She is also second on the team in both digs with 72 and blocks with 19.
With the Gators' brutal non-conference slate behind them, now those numbers become all the more important as Florida looks to reclaim its place atop the SEC after finishing second last season to Missouri. UF had won two of the previous four league crowns.
“I think we have a lot of volleyball ahead of us and we have a lot of growing to do, but you can't treat [the conference schedule] any differently,” Dagostino said. “SEC play is no different than any other play. We come in and we practice like we're practicing for a championship, if we have that (championship) mindset, which I think we do, then this is going to be an awesome season. It's going to be fun to watch."
