Match Notes
PALO ALTO, Calif. – The eighth-ranked Florida volleyball team is set for a Top-10 matchup when the team faces No. 2 Stanford on Tuesday night in Maples Pavilion.
First serve is slated for 9 p.m. EST on the Pac-12 Network with Troy Clardy and Nicole Branagh on the call.
Both the Gators and the Cardinal went undefeated in their opening weekends, with Florida defeating then-No. 8 Penn State and South Florida during the Road 2 Tampa Bay Invitational. Stanford kicked off its 2023 campaign with wins over Northern Colorado and Colorado State.
Stanford holds the 9-5 series advantage over Florida, but the series is tied 2-2 in Palo Alto, Calif.
National Spotlight
- As a team, the Gators are ranked in the Top-20 in the nation in the following:
- Blocks per set (18th | 3.11)
- Individually, three Gators are ranked in the Top-20 nationally:
Historic Performances
- In the opening match of the 2023 season against No. 8 Penn State, Kennedy Martin (18) and Kira Hutson (14) combined for 32 kills
- The freshmen duo of Martin and Hutson were the first pair of freshmen to record 30+ combined kills in a season opening match, surpassing the mark of 28 from the duo of Kristy Jaeckel (15) and Kelly Murphy (13) in the season-opener in 2008
- Against South Florida on Aug. 26, Kennedy Martin posted 27 kills - the second-highest total for a freshman in the rally-scoring era (Aury Cruz, 31)
- Martin's combined 45 kills were the most for a freshman in the first two matches of their career in the rally-scoring era, surpassing Thayer Hall's mark of 41 in the 2018 season
- Against South Florida, Anna Dixon recorded a career-high 14.0 blocks, surpassing her previous career-high of 6.0. That mark was tied for the highest total in a match in program history with four-time All-American Rhamat Alhassan
- For their performances, Kennedy Martin and Anna Dixon were honored by the SEC, with Martin earning Overall/Offensive Player of the Week honors and Dixon being named Co-Defensive Player of the Week
Gators in the Polls
- After a 2-0 weekend to start the 2023 campaign, the Gators moved up three spots to No. 8 in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll
- Four SEC teams are ranked in the Top 25: No. 8 Florida, No. 15 Kentucky, No. 23 Arkansas and No. 24 Tennessee. Auburn (56) and LSU (13) are all receiving votes in the preseason poll
Last Time Out
- The Gators started the season 2-0 with victories over No. 8 Penn State and South Florida at the Road 2 Tampa Bay Invitational this past weekend
- Florida topped the Nittany Lions in four sets on Friday night, following up with a come-from-behind victory against host institution South Florida in five sets
- Kennedy Martin led the way offensively over the weekend with 45 kills and a .379 clip, followed by 20 kills from Sofia Victoria, 18 from Anna Dixon and 17 from Kira Hutson
- Defensively, Dixon tallied 16 blocks to lead the way, while Martin (11) and Gabrielle Essix (10) combined for 21
- Alexis Stucky dished out 101 assists, including 55 in the four-set victory over Penn State. Dixon and Stucky also led the way behind the service line, recording five aces a piece
- In the backcourt, Elli McKissock registered a team-high 21 digs, followed by 17 from Trinity Adams and 16 from Emily Canaan. Stucky (15), Martin (13) and Dixon (12) were the other Gators in double-digit digs.
No. 8 Florida at No. 2 Stanford Broadcast Information
Date & Time: Aug. 29 | 9 p.m. EST
Live Stream: Pac 12 Network | Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Series Information – No. 8 Florida at No. 2 Stanford
Cardinal | 2023 season synopsis: 2-0
- This is the 15th meeting between the Gators and the Cardinal
- Florida trails 5-9 (5-9 under Mary Wise)
- 3-set: 2-3 | 4-set: 2-2 | 5-set: 2-3
- Home: 1-3 | Away: 2-1 | Neutral: 3-4
- Last Time Out: Aug. 30, 2022 | Gainesville, Fla. | L, 2-3 (29-21, 22-25, 25-16, 25-22, 10-15)
FOLLOW FLORIDA VOLLEYBALL
FloridaGators.com
Twitter
Instagram
Coach Mary Wise on Twitter |
Coach Mary Wise on Instagram
Facebook
