Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 9 Gators, who remained at No. 8 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings, enter the weekend on a six-match winning streak, conclude a four-match homestand Friday (Oct. 28) and Sunday (Oct. 30), and have the chance to move into a tie for first place in the SEC standings.
 
Following Friday's 7 p.m. ET match with Ole Miss, which will be broadcast live on SEC Network +, the Gators will face LSU in a televised match on Sunday. First serve for Florida-LSU is slated for 12 p.m. on SEC Network.
 
Both matches will also feature radio broadcasts on ESPN Gainesville 95.3 FM / 850 AM.
 
UF (18-2, 8-1 SEC) enters this weekend's matches at third place in the SEC standings, trailing Missouri and Kentucky, both of which hold 9-1 records in league play. Kentucky and Missouri are idle on Friday, meaning a win moves the Gators into a three-way tie for first place.
 
Four Gators—Rhamat Alhassan (11), Alex Holston (15), Rachael Kramer (12), and Carli Snyder (12)—recorded double-digit kills in their first meeting with Ole Miss on Sep. 23. Junior libero Caroline Knop also posted a career-high 31 digs, and redshirt sophomore setter Allie Monserez tallied 54 assists in the four-set victory.
 
In the first meeting with LSU, held in Baton Rouge on Oct. 14, Snyder led the Gators with 12 kills, along with 10 assists for one of her seven double-doubles this year. Monserez also posted double-double, logging 32 assists and 16 digs.
 
PROMOTIONS: First 250 fans in attendance for Friday's match will receive a FREE Florida Volleyball car flag.

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

• Florida leads the nation in hitting efficiency (.331) for a fifth straight week, and its average climbed .008 after clips of .412 against Mississippi State and .438 against Georgia
• UF's current clip of .331 would tie the seventh-highest hitting percentage by a Division I team since 2008, when the current 25-point scoring system was adopted
• Freshman middle blocker Rachael Kramer continues to lead the nation in hitting percentage (.489)
  • 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
• Not far behind Kramer are junior All-American middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan ranks 11th nationally (.417) and senior three-time All-American right side Alex Holston ranks 75th (.352), making Florida the only Division I team with three qualifying players hitting above .350
• Florida's opponent hitting percentage is down to .157, which ranks 19th nationally. Back on Oct. 3, the Gators were ranked 60th nationally
  • Only one team since 2010 finished the year with a clip higher than .320 and an opponent clip below .170: the 2014 Penn State Nittany Lions, who won the national title
• Redshirt sophomore setter Allie Monserez leads the nation in assists per set (12.22) for a fifth straight week, and no other player in the country is averaging better than 12 assists per set
• 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
• Defensively, UF checks in at No. 14 nationally with 2.86 blocks per set, and the Gators have logged double-digit blocks in six of their last 10 matches

 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Friday, Oct. 28, vs. Ole Miss | 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. 30, vs. LSU | 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
Ole Miss | 13-9 overall, 2-7 SEC

• Florida leads: 47-3 (41-0 under Mary Wise)
• 3-set: 40-0 | 4-set: 4-1 | 5-set: 3-2
• Home: 22-0 | Away: 22-3 | Neutral: 3-0
• Last Time Out: Sep. 23, 2016 at Oxford --> W, 3-1 (24-26, 25-12, 25-15, 25-16)­­­­
• Notable: Florida has won the last 42 meetings, a streak that dates back to 1990 

LSU | 7-13 overall, 2-7 SEC

• Florida leads: 40-13 (37-5 under Mary Wise)
• 3-set: 22-7 | 4-set: 14-6 | 5-set: 4-0
• Home: 19-5 | Away: 17-6 | Neutral: 4-2
• Last Time Out: Oct. 14, 2016 at Baton Rouge --> W, 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-11)
• Notable: UF has won 10 consecutive meetings in the series

 
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