No. 9 Gators Aim for SEC Title Share at Arkansas

Saturday, November 26

Fayetteville, AR

2 PM

Florida Gators

Arkansas

After missing out on the SEC title last season, Florida is looking to make it two championships in the past three seasons.

No. 9 Gators Aim for SEC Title Share at Arkansas

Friday, November 25, 2016 | Volleyball

Florida guarantees itself no less than a share of its 22nd SEC title with a win on Saturday

By: Zach Dirlam

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 9 Gators head to Arkansas for a Saturday (Nov. 26) afternoon match needing a victory guarantee themselves no less than a share of the program's 22nd Southeastern Conference title.

Florida and Missouri both enter their respective regular season finales with matching 15-2 records in SEC play. The Gators can clinch the title outright with a win and a Missouri loss against Tennessee in its 7:30 p.m. ET match. Losses by both Florida and Missouri would result in either a three- or four-way tie for the title with Kentucky (15-3) and Texas A&M (14-3), dependent on the outcome of its regular season finale at Auburn.

A shared SEC title would be the first since 2004, when Florida and Tennessee were crowned co-champions. The only other shared championships in league history came in 1986 (Georgia, LSU) and 1991 (Florida, LSU).

The Gators rebounded from five-set road loss at Missouri with a gritty four-set victory over Auburn on Wednesday (Nov. 23). Junior All-American middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan totaled 11 kills and 10 blocks for a team-high 16.5 points. It was her second such double-double of the year, making her the first Gator since three-time All-American Benavia Jenkins (2000) to post multiple matches of 10-plus kills and 10-plus blocks in a season.

Florida also had a league-leading five players collect All-SEC honors, in addition to middle blocker Rachael Kramer earning an All-Freshman Team accolade.

Congrats to our league-leading FIVE All-@SEC honorees, and All-Freshman Team selection @Rachael5Kramer!#GoGators pic.twitter.com/Oc7yh3TS1c
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) November 23, 2016

Florida split its series with Arkansas last season, sweeping the Razorbacks at home and dropping a five-set affair in Fayetteville. The loss at Arkansas snapped UF's 14-match winning streak in the series.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday, Nov. 26, at Arkansas | 2 p.m. ET
Live Stream: SEC Network + | Radio Stream (Tom Collett) | Live Stats

FLORIDA NATIONALLY ENTERING THIS WEEK

UF is the only team in the nation ranked in the top 25 in hitting percentage (first, .337), assists per set (sixth, 13.60), kills per set (20th, 14.31), blocks per set (21st, 2.68) and opponent hitting percentage (23rd, .163).
- Three other teams accomplished this feat in the last three seasons: Hawaii (2015 – NCAA Regional Finalist), Washington (2015 – NCAA Regional Finalist), and Penn State (2014 – NCAA Champion).
Florida leads the nation in hitting efficiency (.337) for a ninth straight week.
- The next-closest hitting percentage to Florida is Western Kentucky's .311 clip, and Nebraska (.300) is the only other team hitting .300 or higher.
UF's current clip of .337 would be the sixth-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 .163, which ranks 23rd 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
Junior All-American middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan ranks fourth nationally in hitting percentage (.431) and 13th in blocks per set (1.45), making her the only player in the nation ranked in the top 20 of both categories.
Alhassan was also the only player to rank in the top 15 of both those categories last season
- Penn State's Katie Slay (2011 & 2013), a three-time All-American, is the only other player since 2010 to end the year ranked in the top 15 of both categories multiple times.
Redshirt sophomore setter Allie Monserez leads the nation in assists per set (12.24) for an ninth straight week, and no other player in the country is averaging better than 11.96 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.