Sunday, November 20
Columbia, MO
4 PM
Florida Gators
at
Missouri
A win on Sunday moves Florida one step closer to yet another outright SEC title.
No. 5 Gators Head to No. 25 Missouri for Weighty SEC Matchup
Saturday, November 19, 2016 | Volleyball
Florida has hit .350 or higher in each of its last eight matches, but faces one of the league's top defenses on Sunday
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 5 Gators, who also moved up one spot to No. 5 in the latest NCAA RPI Rankings, enter Sunday's (Nov. 20) showdown at No. 25 Missouri, their third match against a ranked opponent, looking to strengthen their outright lead in the SEC standings.
Florida has not had any trouble winning highly-profile matches on the road this season, as it entered the week as one of only five teams (Kansas, Nebraska, Utah, Wisconsin) with four true road wins against the current RPI Top 30. A win over Missouri, ranked No. 14 in the RPI, would tie UF with Wisconsin for the national lead (five).
Florida also entered this week tied for third nationally in road wins (11), trailing only American's and Wisconsin's 12, as well as one of four teams (Coastal Carolina, Dayton, Western Kentucky) with an undefeated road record in at least 11 away matches.
In each of its last eight matches, UF has hit .350 or higher, marking its longest streak since 2003. Those 2003 Gators reached the NCAA Championship match. Defensively, UF has held 11 opponents under a .100 clip, which is the most times it has done that since 2006.
With a win Sunday afternoon, the Gators, 14-1 in SEC play, would move within one win of clinching no less than a share of the program's 22nd SEC title.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Sunday, Nov. 20, at Missouri | 4 p.m. ET
TV: Live on SEC Network (Courtney Lyle & Missy Whittemore) | Stream: Watch ESPN | Radio Stream (Tom Collett) + live on ESPN Gainesville (95.3 FM / AM 850) | Live Stats
FLORIDA NATIONALLY ENTERING THIS WEEK
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Missouri | 22-5 overall, 13-2 SEC
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Florida has not had any trouble winning highly-profile matches on the road this season, as it entered the week as one of only five teams (Kansas, Nebraska, Utah, Wisconsin) with four true road wins against the current RPI Top 30. A win over Missouri, ranked No. 14 in the RPI, would tie UF with Wisconsin for the national lead (five).
Florida also entered this week tied for third nationally in road wins (11), trailing only American's and Wisconsin's 12, as well as one of four teams (Coastal Carolina, Dayton, Western Kentucky) with an undefeated road record in at least 11 away matches.
In each of its last eight matches, UF has hit .350 or higher, marking its longest streak since 2003. Those 2003 Gators reached the NCAA Championship match. Defensively, UF has held 11 opponents under a .100 clip, which is the most times it has done that since 2006.
With a win Sunday afternoon, the Gators, 14-1 in SEC play, would move within one win of clinching no less than a share of the program's 22nd SEC title.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Sunday, Nov. 20, at Missouri | 4 p.m. ET
TV: Live on SEC Network (Courtney Lyle & Missy Whittemore) | Stream: Watch ESPN | Radio Stream (Tom Collett) + live on ESPN Gainesville (95.3 FM / AM 850) | Live Stats
FLORIDA NATIONALLY ENTERING THIS WEEK
- The Gators are the only team in the nation ranked in the top 20 in hitting percentage (first, .343), assists per set (fourth, 13.68), kills per set (eighth, 14.42), and opponent hitting percentage (12th, .154)
- In the last three seasons, only the 2014 Penn State Nittany Lions, who won the national title, finished in the top 15 nationally in all four of those categories.
- Florida leads the nation in hitting efficiency (.343) for an eighth straight week.
- The next-closest hitting percentage to Florida is Western Kentucky's .308 clip, and Nebraska (.300) is the only other team hitting .300 or higher.
- UF's current clip of .343 would be the fourth-highest hitting percentage by a Division I team since 2008, when the current 25-point scoring system was adopted.
- Of the teams currently holding the six highest clips during that span, only the 2013 Missouri Tigers (.356) failed to reach the NCAA Semifinals.
- The Gators have only finished two seasons with a clip higher than .320—2003 (.332), when it reached the NCAA Championship match, and 2013, when it bowed out in the second round.
- Florida's opponent hitting percentage sits at .154, which ranks 14th 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
- UF's four road wins against the RPI Top 30 came at No. 20 Oregon, No. 11 Michigan State, No. 27 Florida State, and No. 23 Texas A&M.
- Junior All-American middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan is up to fifth nationally in hitting percentage (.428), and senior three-time All-American right side Alex Holston ranks 50th (.360) after four errorless matches in UF's last seven outings.
- Florida is one of five teams (BYU, Dayton, San Diego, Southern Illinois) with three qualifying players ranked in the top 50 nationally.
- Alhassan also ranks ninth nationally in blocks per set (1.51), marking her one of two players since 2011 to rank in the top 10 in both hitting percentage and blocks per set, with BYU's Nicole Warner (2012) being the other.
- Alhassan is the only player in the top 20 of both categories this year, and was the only player in the top 15 of both last season, when she finished second in blocks per set and ninth in clip.
- Redshirt sophomore setter Allie Monserez leads the nation in assists per set (12.29) for an eighth straight week, and no other player in the country is averaging better than 11.93 assists per set.
- The last Gator to finish a season with more than 11.65 assists per set was Angie McGinnis, who averaged 13.88 assists per set in 2007.
- Missouri's Molly Kreklow (2013) is the only player in SEC history to finish a season as the national leader in assists per set.
- Florida ranks fourth nationally in assists per set (13.68), a category it has not ranked higher than 13th in since at least 2010.
- The Gators have not averaged more than 13.55 assists per set under the current 25-point scoring format adopted in 2008
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Missouri | 22-5 overall, 13-2 SEC
- Florida leads: 5-3 (5-3 under Mary Wise)
- 3-set: 4-1 | 4-set: 1-1 | 5-set: 0-1
- Home: 3-1 | Away: 1-2 | Neutral: 1-0
- Last Time Out: Oct. 25, 2015 at Gainesville --> W, 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-17)
- Notable: The home team has won four of the last five meetings; UF has not surrendered more than 20 points in any set in its last two victories over Missouri
FOLLOW FLORIDA VOLLEYBALL | 2016 UF Volleyball Media Supplement
FloridaGators.com
Coach Mary Wise on Twitter | Coach Mary Wise on Instagram
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