Friday, December 8
Gainesville, FL
4 PM
Florida Gators
vs
UCLA
Florida is 27-1 this season but will face consecutive ranked opponents for the first time since the season's opening weekend.
No. 2 Gators Host No. 15 UCLA in NCAA Regional Action
Thursday, December 7, 2017 | Volleyball
Florida is seeking its first NCAA Semifinals appearance since 2003
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida faces 15th-seeded UCLA inside Exactech Arena / O'Connell Center in Friday's NCAA Regional Semifinal, which will be the 24th such appearance in program history. Opening serve for the first regional competition in Gainesville since 2011 is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.
All-session and single-match general admission tickets for the Gainesville Regional—which is the only one featuring four national seeds—are still available (follow this link for purchasing). Students gain admission to all matches FREE OF CHARGE with a valid Gator1 ID.
Parking restrictions are lifted all day Friday for the O'Connell Center garage, and all campus parking lot restrictions for Friday end at 3:30 p.m. ET.
This will be the first meeting in the Florida-UCLA series since 2006, and each program has won three of the six all-time matchups. Each of the six previous matches between the two programs has been a sweep. Florida (977) and UCLA (866) rank third and eighth, respectively, among Division I programs in total wins since 1984, the first season of Gators volleyball.
Florida's offense posted its highest and third-highest hitting percentages of the season in wins over Alabama State and Miami last week. But the Gators will face a Bruins defense that ranks 31st nationally in digs per set. Northern Kentucky (16th) is the only team Florida faced this season that ranks higher than 70th in digs per set.
The winner of Friday's match will face the winner of the No. 7 Minnesota-No. 10 Southern California match, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET in the O'Dome.
BROADCAST INFORMATION | Match Notes
Friday, Dec. 8 vs. No. 15 UCLA | 4 p.m. ET
TV: ESPNU | Streaming: Watch ESPN [Courtney Lyle, Jenny Hazelwood] | Radio: Audio Stream [Tom Collett, Josh Crow] (also available via ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF) | Live Stats
Saturday, Dec. 9 vs. No. 7 Minnesota / No. 10 Southern California | 6 p.m. ET
TV: ESPNU | Streaming: Watch ESPN [Courtney Lyle, Jenny Hazelwood] | Radio: Audio Stream [Tom Collett, Josh Crow] (also available via ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF) | Live Stats
TICKET INFORMATION | Gainesville Regional
Tickets for the NCAA Regional Semifinals and Championship in Gainesville are on sale online (follow this link for purchasing) and at the Gator Ticket Office (352-375-4683), located between Gates 1 & 2 of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Tickets will also be available at the ticket office outside Gate 1 of Exactech Arena 90 minutes prior to the day's first match.
All-Session Tickets
Single-Match Tickets
GAINESVILLE REGIONAL SCHEDULE (all times Eastern)
MEDIA INFORMATION
Media Contact: Zach Dirlam (ZachD@gators.ufl.edu) | Media Services/Credentialing Information (PDF)
IMPORTANT CREDENTIALING NOTE: If you were credentialed for the University of Florida regular season and/or the NCAA First & Second Rounds in Gainesville, you are automatically credentialed for all Gainesville NCAA Regional matches. Your NCAA First & Second Round credential IS STILL VALID for NCAA Regional matches. Newly credentialed media members, or credentialed media who did not pick up credentials last week, can collect theirs at Will Call (Gate 1 of Exactech Arena) one hour prior to first serve of Friday's opening match, as well as an hour prior to first serve of Saturday's match.
FLORIDA NCAA REGIONAL NOTABLES
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
No. 15 UCLA | 21-10 overall, 12-8 Pac-12 Conference (t-5th)
FOLLOW FLORIDA VOLLEYBALL
FloridaGators.com
Twitter
Instagram
Coach Mary Wise on Twitter | Coach Mary Wise on Instagram
Facebook
All-session and single-match general admission tickets for the Gainesville Regional—which is the only one featuring four national seeds—are still available (follow this link for purchasing). Students gain admission to all matches FREE OF CHARGE with a valid Gator1 ID.
Parking restrictions are lifted all day Friday for the O'Connell Center garage, and all campus parking lot restrictions for Friday end at 3:30 p.m. ET.
This will be the first meeting in the Florida-UCLA series since 2006, and each program has won three of the six all-time matchups. Each of the six previous matches between the two programs has been a sweep. Florida (977) and UCLA (866) rank third and eighth, respectively, among Division I programs in total wins since 1984, the first season of Gators volleyball.
Florida's offense posted its highest and third-highest hitting percentages of the season in wins over Alabama State and Miami last week. But the Gators will face a Bruins defense that ranks 31st nationally in digs per set. Northern Kentucky (16th) is the only team Florida faced this season that ranks higher than 70th in digs per set.
The winner of Friday's match will face the winner of the No. 7 Minnesota-No. 10 Southern California match, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET in the O'Dome.
BROADCAST INFORMATION | Match Notes
Friday, Dec. 8 vs. No. 15 UCLA | 4 p.m. ET
TV: ESPNU | Streaming: Watch ESPN [Courtney Lyle, Jenny Hazelwood] | Radio: Audio Stream [Tom Collett, Josh Crow] (also available via ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF) | Live Stats
Saturday, Dec. 9 vs. No. 7 Minnesota / No. 10 Southern California | 6 p.m. ET
TV: ESPNU | Streaming: Watch ESPN [Courtney Lyle, Jenny Hazelwood] | Radio: Audio Stream [Tom Collett, Josh Crow] (also available via ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF) | Live Stats
TICKET INFORMATION | Gainesville Regional
Tickets for the NCAA Regional Semifinals and Championship in Gainesville are on sale online (follow this link for purchasing) and at the Gator Ticket Office (352-375-4683), located between Gates 1 & 2 of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Tickets will also be available at the ticket office outside Gate 1 of Exactech Arena 90 minutes prior to the day's first match.
All-Session Tickets
- Adult General Admission – $12
- Child General Admission – $7
- Loge Seats – Sold Out
- Courtside Seats – Sold Out
Single-Match Tickets
- Adult General Admission – $7
- Child General Admission – $4
- Students – FREE with valid Gator1 ID
GAINESVILLE REGIONAL SCHEDULE (all times Eastern)
- NCAA Regional Semifinal Matches | Friday, Dec. 8
- Match 1 (No. 15 UCLA vs. No. 2 Florida) – 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
- Match 2 (No. 10 USC vs. No. 7 Minnesota) – 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
- NCAA Regional Championship | Saturday, Dec. 9 | Winners of Match 1 & 2 – 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
MEDIA INFORMATION
Media Contact: Zach Dirlam (ZachD@gators.ufl.edu) | Media Services/Credentialing Information (PDF)
- 2017 Florida Volleyball Media Supplement
- Interactive NCAA Tournament Bracket
- NCAA Tournament Bracket (PDF)
- Regional Bracket (PDF)
- Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center
IMPORTANT CREDENTIALING NOTE: If you were credentialed for the University of Florida regular season and/or the NCAA First & Second Rounds in Gainesville, you are automatically credentialed for all Gainesville NCAA Regional matches. Your NCAA First & Second Round credential IS STILL VALID for NCAA Regional matches. Newly credentialed media members, or credentialed media who did not pick up credentials last week, can collect theirs at Will Call (Gate 1 of Exactech Arena) one hour prior to first serve of Friday's opening match, as well as an hour prior to first serve of Saturday's match.
FLORIDA NCAA REGIONAL NOTABLES
- The Gators are 21-6 overall as an overall top-four seed, including a 19-1 record at home
- This is the 11th time in program history and first time since 2011 the Gators are hosting NCAA Regional Semifinal and Championship matches
- Florida also hosted NCAA Regionals in: 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009
- The Gators are making their 24th NCAA Regional Semifinals appearance, and are pursuing their 16th Regional Championship berth in program history
- Florida is seeking its eighth all-time NCAA Semifinals appearance and its first since 2003, when it played in the NCAA Championship match
- Mary Wise boasts a 67-26 (.720) all-time record in the NCAA Tournament, with all her postseason appearances coming as Florida's head coach
- The Gators carry a 68-27 (.716) all-time record in NCAA Tournament play
- The Gators are 53-7 (.883) when hosting NCAA Tournament matches in Gainesville
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
No. 15 UCLA | 21-10 overall, 12-8 Pac-12 Conference (t-5th)
- Tied: 3-3 (3-3 under Mary Wise)
- 3-set: 3-3 | 4-set: 0-0 | 5-set: 0-0
- Home: 1-0 | Away: 0-0 | Neutral: 2-3
- NCAA Tournament series: Florida trails, 0-1
- Last Time Out: Sept. 2, 2006 in Honolulu, Hawaii --> L, 0-3 (29-31, 28-30, 15-30)
- Notable: Four-time NCAA champions (1984, 1990, 1991, 2011); fourth consecutive NCAA Regional Semifinals appearance; 2016 NCAA Regional Finalist (lost 3-0, at No. 2 Minnesota)
- Player to Watch: Sarah Sponcil, senior, setter – ranks 20th nationally in assists per set (11.25)
FOLLOW FLORIDA VOLLEYBALL
FloridaGators.com
Coach Mary Wise on Twitter | Coach Mary Wise on Instagram
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