WATCH: Mary Wise Recaps Last Week, Previews St. John's
Monday, September 14, 2015 | Volleyball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- At last, the Gators will take to the court in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Thursday for their 2015 home opener after playing the first seven matches of the season on the road. Florida 25th year head coach Mary Wise met with the media Monday to recap the 2015 campaign so far, including No. 5 Florida's most recent 11-day road swing to Austin and Honolulu for competition in the VERT Challenge and Outrigger Resorts Volleyball Challenge.
The Gators enter Thursday's 7 p.m. match up with the St. John's Red Storm at 6-1 on the season, 2-1 against top-25 opponents. Later this weekend on Sunday, UF will host Sunshine State rival No. 18 FSU to the O'Dome, with first serve slated for 5 p.m. on the SEC Network.
FLORIDA LAST WEEK
The Gator volleyball team is coming off an 11-day road stand where the squad played five matches between Austin, Texas, and Honolulu, Hawaii. Florida went 2-1 in the last week of play at the Outrigger Resorts Volleyball Classic on O'ahu. UF defeated Eastern Washington, 3-1, fell in five to No. 16 Hawai'i and swept San Diego State to move to 6-1 on the season – with all seven of its first matches on the road. Florida will open at home Thursday against St. John's before hosting top-25 Sunshine State foe Florida State Sunday. Florida middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan, the reigning AVCA National Player of the Week, was in Rhamat Alhassan form, as the sophomore hit .585 with just one error and had 23 blocks (1.92/s) in the tournament. Alhassan and Gators' senior libero Nikki O'Rourke were named to the All-Tournament Team. O'Rourke had a career-high 25 digs in UF's loss against Hawaii, marking the most digs for a Gator in nearly three years. O'Rourke ranks fifth in the SEC with 4.15 digs per set and is having a career year with double-digit digs in six of Florida's seven matches so far this season. Three Gators tallied double-doubles on the weekend, Alex Holston and Ziva Recek against Hawaii, while senior setter Mackenzie Dagostino put up a double-double against both Eastern Washington and Hawaii. Against San Diego State, UF had the opportunity to get some youth in, primarily sophomore setter Abby Detering, who shined in two sets for the Gators with a career-best 10 assists and two service aces. Detering also sent a kill over and posted three blocks for a career-best 4.5 points. Freshman Taelor Kellum had three blocks, including one solo stuff in the final set of play. First serve between the Gators and Red Storm Thursday is slated for 7 p.m. from the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, while the Gators and Seminoles will clash at 5 p.m. Sunday in Gainesville.
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