GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The drama unfolded in stages, each shifting the heart-pounding tone from set to set.
The UF volleyball team, playing at home as the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and with an opportunity to clinch the program's first trip to the Final Four in 14 years, won a taut first set against Southern Cal on Saturday night at the O'Dome.
Would the Gators cruise past the Trojans the same way they did on Friday night against UCLA, Southern Cal's cross-town rival in Los Angeles, after losing the first set to the Bruins?
In a word: No.
The Trojans evened the match in the second set, and following a dominant effort in the third frame, caused plenty of squirming among the nearly 4,000 fans hoping to see the Gators advance and deliver head coach
Mary Wise her eighth trip to the Final Four and another chance to claim the program's first national title.
The fourth set didn't get any easier for Florida. When Niki Withers drilled a kill for a 24-23 USC lead, the Gators were on the brink of elimination. What followed was gutsy stuff.
The stuff winning programs are built on.
"That is what we have been working on since last year when our season ended,'' senior
Carli Snyder told ESPN afterward. "We are not going to crumble when it gets tough. When someone pushes us, we are going to push back."
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Gators head coach Mary Wise offers appreciation to the crowd after Saturday night's thrilling five-set win over USC to clinch a berth in the Final Four. (Photo: Matt Stamey/UAA Communications)
Shainah Joseph's kill tied the score, Florida went up on
Rhamat Alhassan's block, and then Joseph finished off the comeback with a kill. The match was 2-all and a fifth set loomed.
The O'Dome felt like a tea kettle about to blow its top.
"They didn't back off at all,'' USC coach Mick Haley said.
Between the fourth and fifth sets, Joseph, a fifth-year senior who had to wait four years to play her natural position of right-side hitter, took control. As the Gators sat on the bench after getting instructions from the coaching staff, an animated Joseph paced in front of her seated teammates and barked her own orders.
Joseph's adrenaline flowed like the Mississippi. What did she say?
"I don't know. I kind of blacked out," she said. "At that point, you are just trying to get everybody on the same page."
Joseph did recall part of the message was for setters
Allie Monserez and
Cheyenne Huskey, in a match USC's quick-tempo offense controlled for much of the night and made it difficult for UF's offense to stay in rhythm, to just get the ball high at the net and let the Florida's hitters get good looks.
Instead, USC's dynamic sophomore Khalia Lanier (match-high 26 kills) opened the fifth with back-to-back kills as the Trojans grabbed a 3-0 lead and forced Wise to call a timeout. The Trojans' lead grew to 9-5 and for Florida's senior class, playing in its third region final in four years, the story appeared on the way to a familiar ending.
Not so fast. The Gators refused to go away, reeling off six consecutive points to send the crowd into a frenzy.
"We have been a part of some pretty amazing regional finals, and this one will go up with all of them,'' Wise said.
Still,
this one was far from over. The Trojans tied it 11-all and you wondered if they had packed a Hollywood script with them for the trip to Gainesville.
And then a finish Florida fans will cherish for a long, long time. It started with
Rachael Kramer's block for a 12-11 lead. At that point, Snyder, held relatively in check for much of the match, delivered at the biggest moment.
USC senior Jordan Dunn, a 6-foot-4 middle blocker, said the scouting report on Snyder was clear as a sunny day.
"All sharp or line,'' said Dunn.
A senior from Macomb, Mich., Snyder forced a bad set by USC's Victoria Garrick with a nasty shot that put Florida up 13-11. She followed that serve with an ace and 14-11 lead.
"She went for it at the end,'' Haley said. "A top-spin serve is a hit-or-miss proposition when you really rip it. She was able to rip it in-bounds and scored."
Finally, with the crowd on its feet and a trip to Kansas City at stake, Joseph closed out the victory the same way she did in Friday's win over UCLA, with a game-clinching kill.
Florida's Final Four drought was over.
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"It was magical to experience that," said Wise, in her 27th season. "The Gator Nation came through for us in a big way."
The final score: 25-23, 20-25, 18-25, 26-24, 15-11.
Pandemonium ensued when Joseph's shot hit the floor. Wise and her staff embraced in a group hug. The crowd roared loud enough to perhaps wake up a few folks in Micanopy. The players tumbled onto the ground in exhilaration.
As winning moments go, the Gators delivered one to remember.
"For us to win this match, it's probably the best feeling I think I've ever had,'' Snyder said. "We want to bring our best to Kansas City and we are so excited to be going there."
In the end, the Gators had too many weapons and too much resiliency. Seniors Alhassan (17 points), Snyder (14.5) and Joseph (16.5) led the way. Sophomore Kramer added 14.5 points, Monserez 34 assists and the bench came through repeatedly.
Haley, no stranger to facing Wise in the postseason – he was in his third season at USC when the Trojans defeated the Gators for the national title in 2003 – said this could be Wise's best team.
"She's got a chance to win," he said. "The reason is because she's got so many scoring opportunities."
The Gators (29-1) take a 15-game win streak to Kansas City for their national semifinal against Stanford on Thursday. The Cardinal advanced with a victory over Texas late Saturday.
Four down, two to go for the Gators on their quest for that elusive national title.
Whatever happens at the Final Four, on the way there, the Gators showed Saturday night why they are real contenders. They have chased this opportunity since that stunning home loss in the second round to Florida State a year ago.
"We were tired, it was scary, but we were so resilient,'' Joseph said. "It was amazing."
Yes, it was.
