No. 14 Gators Conclude SEC Slate with Weekend Road Swing to LSU, No. 25 Texas A&M
Friday, November 20, 2015 | Volleyball
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The No. 14 Gators will look to leave it all out on the court this weekend in their final two SEC matches of the 2015 season with a trip to Baton Rouge to take on LSU Friday before taking on No. 25 Texas A&M a second time this season Sunday, this time in Aggie territory in College Station.
First serve in Baton Rouge against the Tigers (9-16, 5-9 SEC) is slated for 6 p.m. ET Friday, while the Gators and Aggies (20-6, 13-2 SEC) clash at 2 p.m. ET Sunday -- both matches will air on SEC Network.
With just three more regular-season matches remaining, UF will look to reining SEC Player of the Week Alex Holston and SEC Setter of the Week Mackenzie Dagostino to lead the charge heading into the postseason stretch. Florida has won eight straight in the history of the series with LSU, while the Gators have never fallen to Texas A&M. The Aggies are riding an 11-match win streak and have lost just five sets at home all season.
Florida leads the nation in hitting efficiency at .324, ranks 12th in kills per set (14.46), 23rd in blocks per set (2.71), 24th in assists per set (13.22) and 27th in opponent hitting efficiency (.163). The Gators have held 13 opponents to a .200 efficiency or lower this season. While UF and LSU are meeting for the first time this season, the Gators swept the Aggies at home on Oct. 9 and posted their best efficiency of the season (.517) with their lowest error match of the year (six attack and three service errors) against A&M.
The No. 14-No. 25 match-up in College Station will mark UF's seventh top-25 clash of the year. The Gators are 4-2 against ranked opponents this season.
In the big scope of the SEC, Florida sits third (12-4) in the SEC standings behind Missouri (12-3) and Texas A&M (13-2). While the Gators have just two more conference matches remaining, league play continues for a number of teams the week of Thanksgiving. The Orange and Blue rank first in the conference in efficiency (.324), opponent efficiency (.163), assists (13.22/s), kills (14.46/s) and lead the SEC through league play in efficiency (.320), opponent efficiency (.163) and kills per set (14.45).
LAST WEEK HIGHLIGHTS
· UF has 15 sweeps in 2015, 11 in SEC play and has swept 10 of its last 12 opponents
· Florida added SEC sweeps last weekend against Alabama and Tennessee to notch its 14th and 15th straight-set wins of the 2015 season. Florida hit above .400 against both the Crimson Tide and Volunteers for its fourth time in the last six outing and eighth time this season -- thanks in part to a monster weekend from junior right side Alex Holston, who had 31 kills (5.17 per set) on the weekend with a team-leading 17 against Bama and 14 against Tennessee to eclipse the 1,000 career kills mark as just a junior at UF
· Senior setter Mackenzie Dagostino added her team-leading eighth double-double with 42 assists and a team-high 10 digs Friday in the sweep of Alabama, while sophomore outside hitter Carli Snyder notched her fifth double-double Sunday with 14 kills and 11 digs against the Volunteers
· Dagostino, who ranks No. 9 on UF's career assists list (2,429) guided a stellar Gators' offense both matches, using 48 assists in the three-set affair Sunday, her most in a three-setter this season. The Gators made it seven straight wins at home to defend their home turf to improve to 20-5 on the season, 12-4 in SEC play with just two more conference matches remaining, three regular-season matches with Senior Day Nov. 27 at home
GATOR NOTABLES | Head Coach Mary Wise Monday (11.16) Press Conference
· Simone Antwi voted into University of Florida Student Senate
· éiva Recek earns AVCA Coaches 4 Coaches Scholarship
· After being tops in the RPI last week at No. 1, Florida checks in at No. 4 in this week's RPI rankings after playing a gruesome non-conference schedule that included seven straight matches on the road to start the season. Florida is additionally 4-2 against top-25 opponents in 2015 and will face its seventh top-25 foe Sunday against the Aggies
· Florida leads the nation in hitting efficiency at .324, ranks 12th in kills per set (14.46), 23rd in blocks per set (2.71), 24th in assists per set (13.22) and 27th in opponent hitting efficiency (.163). The Gators have held 13 opponents to a .200 efficiency or lower this season
· Gator sophomore middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan ranks third in the country with 1.62 blocks per set, ranks ninth in the nation in hitting efficiency (.433) and checks in 13th in overall blocks (144). Senior middle Simone Antwi ranks 27th in the nation with her .401 clip. Senior setter Mackenzie Dagostino ranks 11th in the NCAA with 11.62 assists per set
· As a team, the Gators lead the SEC in hitting efficiency (.324), opponent efficiency (.163), assists (13.22/s), kills (14.46/s) and lead the SEC through league play in efficiency (.320), opponent efficiency (.163) and kills per set (14.45)
· The Gators have posted double-digit blocks in 15 of 25 matches this year with a season high 17 at Kentucky Oct. 18
· UF has limited its opponents to a .200 efficiency or lower on 13 different occasions -- including a negative efficiency twice -- while Florida boasts a season-best efficiency of .517 against Texas A&M on Oct. 9 when the Gators posted their lowest error match of the year (six attack and three service errors)
· Florida served up a season-high eight service aces in Friday's match against Alabama. Florida has five or more service aces in 10 matches in 2015
· UF has been perfect receiving in one match in 2015 (San Diego State)
FLORIDA AT LSU BROADCAST INFORMATION
LSU Tigers (Nov. 20)
Time: 6:00 p.m. ET
Live Stream: SEC Network
Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: GatorVision
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
UF | LSU SERIES HISTORY
· 2015 Record: 9-16, 5-9 SEC
· Series Record: Florida leads, 38-13 (35-5 under Mary Wise) – Florida has won eight straight
· 3-set: 20-7; 4-set: 14-6; 5-set: 4-0
· Home: 19-5 | Away: 15-6 | Neutral: 4-2
· Last Time Out: Oct 3, 2014 at Baton Rouge | W, 3-1 (25-12, 23-25, 25-11, 25-22)
FLORIDA AT TEXAS A&M BROADCAST INFORMATION
Texas A&M Aggies (Nov. 22)
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
Live Stream: SEC Network
Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: GatorVision
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
UF | TAMU SERIES HISTORY
· 2015 Record: 20-6, 13-2 SEC
· Series Record: Florida leads, 11-0 (9-0 under Mary Wise)
· 3-set: 5-0; 4-set: 4-0; 5-set: 2-0
· Home: 6-0 | Away: 4-0 | Neutral: 1-0
· Last Time Out: Oct. 9, 2015 at Gainesville | W, 3-0 (25-9, 25-23, 25-18)
UP NEXT
Florida will celebrate five seniors at 3 p.m. the Friday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 27) when UF hosts LIU-Brooklyn in its regular-season finale Nov. 27 before finding out its NCAA Tournament path Nov. 29 during the NCAA Selection Show at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.
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