No. 5 Gators Host St. John’s Thursday in Home Opener, No. 18 FSU Sunday

READ: O'Rourke Seizing Her Senior Year Opportunity

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- At last, the No. 5 Gators return home to the friendly confines of the Stephen C. O'Connell Center after opening the 2015 campaign with seven road matches, and most recently had an 11-day road trip to Austin, Texas, and Honolulu, Hawaii.

Road warriors and road tested. Florida faced three top-20 teams throughout the first three weeks of play on the road, played in several loud and energetic venues and learned a lot about the team that is 6-1 entering its home opener in front of the Orange and Blue faithful in the O'Dome Thursday.

The Gators will host the St. John's University Red Storm (9-3) Thursday, with first serve slated for 7 p.m. on SEC Network +, before engaging in their fourth top-20 battle of the young season Sunday with a tilt against No. 18 FSU at home.

The Gators will then open Southeastern Conference play Sept. 25 & 27 at home with Ole Miss and Kentucky, respectively.

NOTABLES

· Florida ranks No. 2 in the nation in hitting efficiency (.333), No. 7 in kills per set (14.56/s), No. 10 in assists per set (13.65) and No. 12 in blocks per set (2.96)

· Gator sophomore middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan paces the nation with 2.23 blocks per set and ranks fourth in the NCAA in overall blocks with 58 total on the season so far. Alhassan also checks in seventh in the country in hitting efficiency at .478. Senior setter Mackenzie Dagostino ranks third in the NCAA with 11.76 assists per set

· Florida is 2-1 against top-25 opponents so far this season and will face its fourth in No. 18 FSU Sunday

· The last two matches between the Gators and Noles have both been five-setters in favor of FSU

· Mackenzie Dagostino and Ziva Recek were named to the VERT Challenge All-Tournament Team following UF's wins over Oregon and Texas, Rhamat Alhassan was the MVP, while Alhassan and Nikki O'Rourke were named to the Outrigger Resorts All-Tournament Team in Hawaii

SCOUTING THE WEEK | Florida Match Notes | Head Coach Mary Wise Availability

The Florida 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 No. 18 Sunshine State foe Florida State Sunday. Florida middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan, last week's 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 (since 2012). 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.

FLORIDA VS ST. JOHN'S BROADCAST INFORMATION

St. John's University (Sept. 17)

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET

Live Stream: SEC Network +

Radio: ESPN Gainesville

Live Stats: Sidearm Stats

UF | ST. JOHN'S SERIES HISTORY

· 2015 Record: 9-3

· Series Record: Florida leads, 2-0 (2-0 under Mary Wise)

· 3-set: 2-0; 4-set: 0-0; 5-set: 0-0

· Home: 0-0 | Away: 1-0 | Neutral: 1-0

· Last Time Out: Nov. 25, 2006 at Orlando | W, 3-0 (30-19, 30-22, 30-19)