Florida's bid to make the Final Four ended with a loss at Texas. (Tim Casey/Staff Photographer)
Carter's Corner: No Answers for Volleyball Fans Seeking Closure
Friday, December 18, 2015 | Volleyball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida fans on social media cranked up the volume last Saturday night when an obvious miscall in the Florida-Texas volleyball match went against the Gators.
The winner advanced to the Final Four, where the Longhorns defeated Minnesota on Thursday night to advance to the national title match on Saturday against Nebraska.
Meanwhile, several more fans have followed up this week with emails, asking if the NCAA would offer an apology or acknowledge the severity of the mistake. While the result is final and Florida's season ended a win short of the program's first trip to the Final Four in 12 years, closure is what a large group of Florida volleyball fans seems to be after.
You can watch the play in question below on YouTube:
"People are going to make mistakes and that was a big one,'' TV analyst Karch Kiraly said live during the ESPNU broadcast Saturday. "There are lots of plays that are tough to call as lines people – that is not one of them."
Kiraly's partner also was shocked by the call.
ESPN play-by-play announcer Beth Mowins, who called her first Florida football game this season when the Gators beat Vanderbilt on homecoming, was at Gregory Gym on Saturday with Kiraly.
After replays showed Gators sophomore Carli Snyder's shot clearly hit in-bounds with the linesman in perfect position to make the call, Mowins sounded flabbergasted for a moment.
"Oh my goodness!'' she said. "You only need to have the ball on the line. The entire ball was in."
Instead of a 7-7 tie in the fifth set, Texas took an 8-6 lead as the teams switched sides, which forced a lineup change for the Gators. Texas seized the momentum and built an 11-7 lead.
However, the Gators did rally to grab a 12-11 lead before running out of gas in the end, dropping the set 17-15 and the match 3-2.
The Gators refused to blame the loss on the untimely miscall, but the shift in momentum without question changed the complexion of the fifth set.
As for any type of public apology from the NCAA or the Division I Women's Volleyball Committee, nothing appears to be imminent.
Jean Berger, who serves as chair for the committee, said via email the group planned to discuss the situation at this week's Final Four in Omaha after reviewing the evaluators' report from the match.
On Friday Berger followed up with another email: "We will be gathering more information and will review the situation further at our volleyball committee in February."
For those seeking an apology or acknowledgement as often happens via the NCAA or conferences when officiating mistakes impact football games or men's basketball games – usually after extensive media coverage – looks like you will have to wait.
Perhaps until February. Perhaps forever.
The good news: instant replay was used on an experimental basis in the Big 12 and Pac-12 conferences this season and appears on the horizon across the board as early as next season.
The winner advanced to the Final Four, where the Longhorns defeated Minnesota on Thursday night to advance to the national title match on Saturday against Nebraska.
Meanwhile, several more fans have followed up this week with emails, asking if the NCAA would offer an apology or acknowledge the severity of the mistake. While the result is final and Florida's season ended a win short of the program's first trip to the Final Four in 12 years, closure is what a large group of Florida volleyball fans seems to be after.
You can watch the play in question below on YouTube:
"People are going to make mistakes and that was a big one,'' TV analyst Karch Kiraly said live during the ESPNU broadcast Saturday. "There are lots of plays that are tough to call as lines people – that is not one of them."
Kiraly's partner also was shocked by the call.
ESPN play-by-play announcer Beth Mowins, who called her first Florida football game this season when the Gators beat Vanderbilt on homecoming, was at Gregory Gym on Saturday with Kiraly.
After replays showed Gators sophomore Carli Snyder's shot clearly hit in-bounds with the linesman in perfect position to make the call, Mowins sounded flabbergasted for a moment.
"Oh my goodness!'' she said. "You only need to have the ball on the line. The entire ball was in."
Instead of a 7-7 tie in the fifth set, Texas took an 8-6 lead as the teams switched sides, which forced a lineup change for the Gators. Texas seized the momentum and built an 11-7 lead.
However, the Gators did rally to grab a 12-11 lead before running out of gas in the end, dropping the set 17-15 and the match 3-2.
The Gators refused to blame the loss on the untimely miscall, but the shift in momentum without question changed the complexion of the fifth set.
As for any type of public apology from the NCAA or the Division I Women's Volleyball Committee, nothing appears to be imminent.
Jean Berger, who serves as chair for the committee, said via email the group planned to discuss the situation at this week's Final Four in Omaha after reviewing the evaluators' report from the match.
On Friday Berger followed up with another email: "We will be gathering more information and will review the situation further at our volleyball committee in February."
For those seeking an apology or acknowledgement as often happens via the NCAA or conferences when officiating mistakes impact football games or men's basketball games – usually after extensive media coverage – looks like you will have to wait.
Perhaps until February. Perhaps forever.
The good news: instant replay was used on an experimental basis in the Big 12 and Pac-12 conferences this season and appears on the horizon across the board as early as next season.
Players Mentioned
OH
/ VolleyballFlorida Baseball | A Day in the Life with Cole Stanford
Monday, December 29
Florida Women's Basketball | Postgame Press Conference | Furman
Sunday, December 28
Florida Volleyball | Top 5 Digs from the 2025 Season
Tuesday, December 23
Florida Men's Basketball | Colgate Recap
Tuesday, December 23
