Seniors Rhamat Alhassan and Caroline Knop embrace after UF clinched a berth in the Final Four with a victory over Southern Cal on Saturday. (Photo: Matt Stamey/UAA Communications)
Seniors Have Carried Gators to Shot at Title
Wednesday, December 13, 2017 | Volleyball, Scott Carter
UF head coach Mary Wise calls the five program stalwarts the "consummate senior class."
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – They are not perfect, but they are a perfect fit on this team. They are different in countless ways, but they seem to come from the same template.
They did lose in the regular season to Kentucky, the only blemish on their otherwise unspoiled road to the Final Four. They cleared up that stain with a sweep over the Wildcats 17 days later.
There is just something about Florida's senior class that works.
"This is such a team that embodies the uniqueness of its individuals,'' Carli Snyder said. "I'd say you can't find a senior class with more qualities. We have some very different people but it meshes together so well. I have such respect for the type of people each of them are. It goes seamlessly."
Gators head coach Mary Wise has known all sorts of senior classes in her 27 years in charge of the program. Some made their marks more than others.
Still, few have made a bigger impression on Wise than the quintuplet of seniors Rhamat Alhassan, Snyder, Shainah Joseph, Caroline Knop and defensive specialist Lindsey Rogers.
The Gators (29-1) are here to face Stanford (30-3) in the national semifinals on Thursday night primarily due to the group of seniors that continued to knock at the door of the Final Four after losing in the Elite Eight in 2014 and 2015, and then getting upset at home by Florida State in the second round a year ago.
They would not be denied in their final season together.
"This entire year has been a product of their – not just their talents – but their investment level and their attention to detail,'' Wise said Thursday at the Sprint Center. "If you were to write a recipe for the consummate senior class, this would be the group. I could coach 30 more years and never have a class like this."
The group's impact has never been felt stronger than in Saturday night's five-set victory over Southern Cal that clinched the Gators' first trip to the Final Four since 2003.
In the final set, with the season on the line, Alhassan had a pair of kills early in the frame to keep the Gators within striking distance after USC raced to a quick lead. The Gators stormed back to go up 13-11, setting the stage for a dramatic finish.
Snyder's ace made it match point for Florida. Joseph closed out the stirring comeback with a kill, lifting Florida over the Trojans in one of the most memorable postseason finishes in school history.
Sophomore Rachael Kramer, who put away the go-ahead score with a block that snapped an 11-11 tie, watched as the upperclassmen sealed the deal.
"At those times, you kind of have to rely on your seniors for leadership to put balls away,'' Kramer said. "Our seniors stepped up and really did it, through the service line, through the hitting, and of course the final point would go to Shainah."
As soon as Joseph's dart across the net landed untouched on USC's side, the Gators' seniors broke out a celebration they have waited on for so long.
They did it.
"Losing last year in the second round was kind of something that sparked us,'' Alhassan said.
"We gave each other the biggest hugs,'' Snyder said. "We did it for each other."
The connections within the group run much deeper than what you see on the court. When Snyder's grandfather passed away last season, Alhassan made sure her friend had plenty of support. Knop, who started her career at Michigan, transferred into the group last season.
She had played with Alhassan and Snyder on the USA Women's Volleyball Junior National Team during a 2015 tour of Europe that included stops in Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. Knop and Snyder roomed together to form a deep friendship.
When Knop decided to leave Michigan, she considered Florida the perfect spot because of the impact Alhassan and Snyder had on her the previous summer.
"I knew them really well,'' Knop said. "A lot of my reason for coming to Florida was where did I think I had the best opportunity to possibly pursue a national championship. They had laid the stone and I just came in and kind of helped to clean some things up."
Same for Kramer, who grew up in Arizona. She committed to the Gators as a sophomore in high school in large part due to the presence of Alhassan, a middle blocker like herself, and Snyder, an outside hitter and fierce competitor.
"There was going to be such a good upper class that could teach me so much about volleyball,'' Kramer said.
In their final season together, the seniors talked from the start about going out on top and potentially competing for a national title. If the Gators can defeat Stanford on Thursday, they will play the Penn State-Nebraska winner for the national title on Saturday night.
The Gators showed their moxie in the Gainesville Regional in wins over UCLA and USC. They fell behind to the Bruins after dropping the first set, and they fell behind 2-1 to the Trojans.
They don't win either match without the seniors rising to the challenge.
"They were gut-check moments,'' Wise said. "Didn't feel either team lost that match as much as we won that match. We were able to make the plays at that time."
They are not perfect, but Snyder has a perfect ending in mind while in Kansas City. More hugs after the final match here like on Saturday night at the O'Dome.
What a finish that would be.
"I don't think I can ever replicate this feeling outside of college athletics,'' Snyder said. "I don't know what kind of job I'm going to have when I'm older, but I highly doubt it's going to result in 7,000 people on their feet and half of them crying.
"To share this with the people you have gone through since day one, it is one of the most incredible feelings."
Players Mentioned
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