Florida Gators
23-6
New Hampshire
21-9
No. 11 Seed Florida Sweeps New Hampshire to set Up Gators-Noles Tilt in NCAA Second Round Friday
Friday, December 4, 2015 | Volleyball
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- No. 11 seed and 16th-ranked Florida used a sweep of the New Hampshire Wildcats Thursday evening in the opening round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament to set up another classic clash with Sunshine State rival No. 19 Florida State Friday at 7 p.m. in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center for a trip to the Sweet 16.
The Orange and Blue (23-6) used 25-15, 25-9 and 25-15 sets against UNH (21-9) to improve to 19-0 all-time in the NCAA First Round and advance to the Round of 32 against the Seminoles (25-7) for the second time in the last three seasons. FSU swept Arizona State (19-13) to open the Gainesville sub-regional earlier Thursday afternoon.
Behind an error-free, 10-kill outing from junior right side Alex Holston, No. 16 Florida hit .442 against the Wildcats, the fifth-best efficiency in a NCAA match for the Orange and Blue, while holding New Hampshire to just 18 kills and a -.067 efficiency, the lowest for a UF opponent on the season. Sophomore middle Rhamat Alhassan hit .533 with five blocks and 10 kills herself, while senior outside hitter éiva Recek was one dig shy of a double-double with 10 kills and a team-high nine digs.
Florida had just five attack errors, lowest on the season, while the Gators posted 10 blocks to the Wildcats' two, and served up seven service aces to UNH's one. In addition to stellar ball distribution, senior setter Mackenzie Dagostino and her sophomore counterpart Abby Detering were lethal from behind the service line, Dagostino with a season-best four aces and Detering with a career-high three to account for the Gators' seven as Florida was able to control the match from behind the service line to string together points.
UF and FSU will clash Friday at 7 p.m. on SEC Network + with Tom Collett and Missy Whittemore for a berth in the Austin Regional, which will take place Dec. 11-12 at Gregory Gym. The Gators have now won 14 of their last 16 matches, the Seminoles 18 of their last 21 heading into Friday.
Parking restrictions will be lifted in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center parking lot Friday on the UF campus. Fans are encouraged to utilize the O'Dome parking lot and garage. With the Gator Holiday Classic Swim Meet running Dec. 4-6 and the President's Inauguration Dec. 4 at 3 p.m., overflow parking for all three events will be accommodated at Flavet Field, directly south of the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
MARY'S MINUTE | All Quotes
"I think the players can tell you how much respect have for New Hampshire in terms of how much time we spent preparing for them. I'm a huge fan of their setter and what their staff does. Where we had the advantage height-wise, they did everything they could to try to negate that… We won in the serve-pass game and blocked well. Our offense was fairly efficient at .442, but the best news is that we get to play another day."
MATCH NUMBERS OF NOTE
Florida extended its home win streak this season to nine matches… Thursday's win was Florida's 400th home win under head coach Mary Wise… Florida has 18 sweeps on the season, including 13 of the Gators' last 16 matches… UNH marked the third team UF has held to a negative efficiency this season.
NCAA SECOND ROUND INFORMATION | FLORIDA NOTES
Florida was 6-4 during the regular season against the NCAA Tournament field, including a 3-1 victory against FSU Sept. 20 at home. Florida State and Florida have squared off three times in NCAA Tourney play, with UF holding a 2-1 advantage. Last time out in 2013, the Seminoles came out on top of a five-set thriller in Gainesville to advance to the Sweet 16.
TICKET INFORMATION | Gainesville First & Second Rounds
Ticket office sales begin Friday an hour and a half prior to first serve at 5:30 p.m. Will call and gates open one hour prior to the start of the match. The ticket window in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center is located at Gate 1.
Single-Session: $7 Adults; $5 for non-UF students and senior citizens; $4 children 12 & under
*FLORIDA STUDENTS WITH GATOR1 ID RECEIVE FREE ADMISSION*
FLORIDA NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTABLES & NUMBERS OF NOTE
· Florida's 25th straight NCAA Tournament appearance is the fourth-longest active streak in the nation (Penn State & Stanford 35 straight, Nebraska 34 straight)
· No. 11 seed Florida was 6-4 this season against the 2015 NCAA Tournament field
· The Gators have made 22 Regional Semifinals in school history and 14 Regional Finals
· Florida has made seven Final Four appearances and played for the National Championship in 2003
· The Gators' 2015 NCAA Tournament appearance is its 25th consecutive and the 26th in program history
· Florida head coach Mary Wise is now 62-24 (.720) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, with all postseason appearances occurring at the University of Florida
· The Gators moved to 63-25 (.716) all-time in the NCAA Tourney with Thursdays win over UNH
· UF is now 49-7 (.876) all-time at home in NCAA Tournament play
· Florida has been a top-16 seed nationally 19 years, including 10 of the last 11 years
· Last season in 2014, the Gators went 3-1 in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the program's 14th NCAA Regional Final against Stanford before the Cardinal took the match in three sets to advance to the National Semifinals
· The 2015 NCAA Volleyball Final Four is slated for December 17 (National Semifinals at 7 & 9:30 ET) & 19 (National Championship at 7:30 ET) in Omaha, Neb., at CenturyLink Center. The National Semifinals and Finals will be broadcast live on ESPN2. This year marks the 35th annual Division I Women's Volleyball Championship and the third time the state of Nebraska will host the championship (2006, 2008)
GATOR NOTABLES
· League Best Five Gators Named All-SEC Volleyball Selections
· Simone Antwi voted into University of Florida Student Senate
· éiva Recek earns AVCA Coaches 4 Coaches Scholarship
· Sha?nah Joseph Named to 2015 SEC Community Service Team
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