No. 10 Gators Return Home to Face Mississippi State, Georgia

Friday, October 21

Gainesville, FL

7 PM

Florida Gators

Mississippi State

Florida looks to keep pace with SEC leaders Missouri and Kentucky this weekend.

No. 10 Gators Return Home to Face Mississippi State, Georgia

Thursday, October 20, 2016 | Volleyball

Florida turned is 4-1 in home matches this season, and will play at home for just the second and third time this month on Friday and Sunday

By: Zach Dirlam

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 10 Gators, who also moved up one spot to No. 8 in the third edition of the NCAA RPI rankings, return to Gainesville for the first time in nearly three weeks and begin a four-match homestand Friday (Oct. 21) night against Mississippi State.

Following their 7 p.m. ET match with Mississippi State, which will be broadcast live on SEC Network +, the Gators will face Georgia in a televised match on Sunday (Oct. 23). First serve for Florida-Georgia is slated for 12 p.m. on SEC Network.

Both matches will also feature radio broadcasts on ESPN Gainesville 95.3 FM / 850 AM.

Florida played five of its first seven SEC matches on the road, winning all five during that stretch. Entering the week, UF's nine road wins this season were tied with Miami (Ohio) for the most road victories in the country, and it was one of two teams with an undefeated record through at least eight road matches.

Redshirt sophomore setter Allie Monserez and All-American junior middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan were both recognized for their outstanding performances in wins at LSU and defending SEC champion Texas A&M last week.

Monserez was named the AVCA National Player of the Week, espnW Player of the Week, and SEC Player of the Week following a double-double at LSU and a 57-assist outing in College Station. Alhassan, who became the first Gator in 15 years to log 20-plus kills and 10-plus blocks in a match, picked up her second consecutive SEC Defensive Player of the Week honor.

UF enters this weekend's matches at third place in the SEC standings, trailing Missouri and Kentucky, both of which hold 8-0 records.

PROMOTIONS: First 250 students in attendance will receive Florida Volleyball emoji socks.

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Come watch us take on Mississippi State this Friday AND take home a pair of these!!! ???????????????? pic.twitter.com/NtmCpN0Gix
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) October 19, 2016

For all October home matches, the University Athletic Association is partnering with Field and Fork Pantry to gather goods at all home volleyball and soccer matches. The Field and Fork Pantry supports students, faculty, and staff who are experiencing food insecurity and need help finding healthy food for themselves and their families. Located between McCarty Hall and Food Science & Human Nutrition, the Pantry is a free resource for all students, faculty, and staff with a valid Gator 1 card. For more details, visit fieldandfork.ufl.edu.

FLORIDA NATIONALLY ENTERING THIS WEEKEND

The Gators once again lead the nation in hitting percentage (.323), a category they have finished as the national leaders in twice since 2010
Entering the week, UF moved up four spots to No. 10 nationally in assists per set (13.35), and Allie Monserez continues to lead the nation individually in that category (12.35 a/s)
After holding both its opponents under a .185 clip last weekend, Florida moved up to 29th nationally in opponent hitting percentage (.162)—which is up 31 spots from where it was entering the week of Oct. 3
Entering the week, Monserez was one of three players in the country to post more than 55 assists in multiple four-set matches this season
Freshman Rachael Kramer continues to lead the nation in hitting percentage (.490)
- Per the NCAA statistics database, only two freshmen since 2010 finished their debut season with higher than a .410 hitting percentage, with one of those two being UF's Rhamat Alhassan, who led the nation with a .458 clip in 2014
Alhassan is not far behind Kramer in the national rankings, checking in at 12th with a .414 hitting percentage
Alhassan is one of five players in the country and the only SEC player ranked in the top 30 nationally in both hitting percentage and blocks per set, checking in at 12th and 17th, respectively

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Friday, Oct. 21, vs. Mississippi State | 7 p.m.
Stream: SEC Network + (Tom Collett, Missy Whittemore) | Radio Stream (Daniel Gillman, Josh Crow) + live on ESPN Gainesville (95.3 FM / AM 850) | Live Stats

Sunday, Oct. 23, vs. Georgia | 12 p.m.
TV: Live on SEC Network (Courtney Lyle, Missy Whittemore) | Stream: WatchESPN | Radio Stream (Tom Collett, Josh Crow) + live on ESPN Gainesville (95.3 FM / AM 850) | Live Stats

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Mississippi State | 11-10 overall, 3-4 SEC

Florida leads: 46-0 (37-0 under Mary Wise)
3-set: 43-0 | 4-set: 3-0 | 5-set: 0-0
Home: 22-0 | Away: 22-0 | Neutral: 2-0
Last Time Out: Nov. 6, 2015 at Gainesville --> W, 3-0 (25-18, 27-25, 25-18)
Notable: Florida has swept the last eight meetings

Georgia | 13-7 overall, 1-6 SEC