Gators Set for Regional Semifinal with Stanford

Thursday, December 12

Louisville, KY

7 PM

Florida Gators

Stanford University

during the Gators' match against the Kansas Jayhawks Saturday, December 7, 2024 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena at The University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS / UAA Communications photo by Catherine McCarthy

The Gators seek to advance to program's 18th Regional Semifinal.

Gators Set for Regional Semifinal with Stanford

Wednesday, December 11, 2024 | Volleyball

Match Notes 2024 NCAA Volleyball Tournament Bracket Wednesday Press Conference

By: Abby Wisecup

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Florida volleyball team continues its postseason run with a Regional Semifinal matchup against Stanford. The Cardinal is ranked No. 2 in the lower left region of the bracket and is No. 5 in the nation. First serve inside Freedom Hall is slated for 7 p.m. ET and will be live on ESPN2. Eric Frede (play-by-play) and Emily Ehman (Anyalyst) will be on the call, while Ci Michel will be reporting from the court.

UF advanced to the Regional Semifinal after downing NC State and No.3/12 Kansas in the First and Second Rounds, respectively, while Stanford moved on to the Sweet 16 after sweeping Sacramento State and LMU in the first weekend.

The Gators, who are the No. 6 seed in the lower left region of the bracket and the No. 22 ranked team in the nation, will take part in the first match of the night. 30 minutes after the conclusion of match one, the host-team Louisville, who is the No. 1 seed in the lower left region of the bracket and the No. 4 ranked team in the nation, and No. 4/9 Purdue will play. The winner of the two matches will meet in the Regional Final inside Freedom Hall on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Florida is looking to make its 18th trip to the Regional Final and overall, the Gators are 17-11 in Regional Semifinal matches in their 35-year NCAA Tournament history.

Weekend Schedule (Times are listed in Eastern)

Regional Semifinal | Thursday, Dec. 12 | Location: Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY
- 7 p.m. | No. 6/22 Florida vs. No. 2/5 Stanford | Watch: ESPN2 | Live stats: StatsBroadcast | Follow:@GatorsVB
- 30 min. after Match No. 1 | No. 1/4 Louisville vs. No. 4/9 Purdue | Watch: ESPN2
Regional Final | Saturday, Dec. 14 | | Location: Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY
- 7:30 p.m. | Winner Match #1 vs. Winner Match #2 | Location: Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY | Watch: ESPN2

On No. 2/5 Stanford: 27-4 overall | 17-3 ACC | RPI: 4

Series history
- Stanford leads series: 6-9 (6-9 under Mary Wise)
- 3-set: 3-3 | 4-set: 2-2 | 5-set: 2-3
- Home: 1-3 | Away: 3-1 | Neutral: 3-4
- Last Time Out: Aug. 29, 2023 | Stanford, Calif. | Florida wins, 3-0
NCAA Tournament Series
- Stanford leads series: 3-1
2024 Statistical Leaders
- Kills: Elia Rubin (410)
- Kills/Set: Elia Rubin (3.94)
- Assists: Kami Miner (1,153)
- Assists/Set: Kami Miner (11.09)
- Aces: Jordan Harvey (40)
- Aces/Set: Jordan Harvey (0.37)
- Digs: Elena Oglivie (420)
- Digs/Set: Elena Oglivie (3.93)
- Blocks: Sami Francis (162.0)
- Blocks/Set: Sami Francis (1.56)
- Points: Elia Rubin (475.0)
Last time out vs. Stanford
- The No. 8 Florida volleyball team took down the second-ranked team in the nation on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, defeating the Stanford Cardinal in straight-sets.
- The Gators improve to 3-0 for the fourth-straight season and the 27th time in program history with the victory tonight.
- This is the seventh victory for Florida over a Top-2 team in program history, with the last sweep against a Top-2 team being Sept. 7, 2002 against No. 1 Stanford.
- The Gators took the first set 25-17 to open up the match, then won a thrilling 29-27 victory in the second to take the 2-0 lead. Florida claimed the match with a come-from-behind 25-23 win in the final frame.

Scouting the Rest of the Field:

No. 1/4 Louisville Cardinals: 27-5 overall | 17-3 ACC | RPI: 3

Series history
- Florida leads series: 8-1 (6-1 under Mary Wise)
- 3-set: 6-1 | 4-set: 1-0 | 5-set: 1-0
- Home: 5-0 | Away: 1-1 | Neutral: 2-0
- Last Time Out: Dec. 9, 2021 | Austin, Texas | Florida loss, 0-3
NCAA Tournament Series
- Florida leads series: 2-
Notable:
- Earned the overall No. 4 seed after finishing 25-5 in the regular season and 17-3 in the ACC to finish tied second in the conference title race. Also ranked No. 4 in the nation

2024 Statistical Leaders
- Kills: Anna DeBeer (364)
- Kills/Set: Anna DeBeer (3.31)
- Assists: Elle Glock (608) | Nayelis Cabello (589)
- Assists/Set: Elle Glock (5.43) | Nayelis Cabello (5.26)
- Aces: Elena Scott (36)
- Aces/Set: Elena Scott (0.32)
- Digs: Elena Scott (495)
- Digs/Set: Elena Scott (4.46)
- Blocks: Cara Cresse (156.0)
- Blocks/Set: Cara Cresse (1.51)
- Points: Anna DeBeer (424.0)

No. 4/9 Purdue Boilermakers: 27-6 overall | 16-4 Big 10 | RPI: 14

Series history
- Programs are tied in series: 3-3 (2-1 under Mary Wise)
- 3-set: 2-2 | 4-set: 1-1 | 5-set: 0-0
- Home: 1-1 | Away: 2-0 | Neutral: 0-2
- Last Time Out: Dec. 10, 2010 | Austin, Texas | Florida loss, 0-3
NCAA Tournament Series
- Purdue leads series: 1-0
Notable:
- Earned the No. 4 seed in the Louisville region... Hosted first and second rounds and swept both Western Michigan & Loyola Chicago. Also ranked No. 9 in the nation
2024 Statistical Leaders
- Kills: Eva Hudson (557)
- Kills/Set: Eva Hudson (4.84)
- Assists: Taylor Anderson (1,292)
- Assists/Set: Taylor Anderson (11.23)
- Aces: Ravin Gray (37)
- Aces/Set: Ravin Gray (0.32)
- Digs: Allie Shondell (483)
- Digs/Set: Allie Shondell (4.20)
- Blocks: Ravin Colvin (182.0)
- Blocks/Set: Ravin Colvin (1.58)
- Points: Eva Hudson (608.0)

Florida's NCAA Tournament Notables:

6TH SEEDED GATORS
- The Florida volleyball team earned the sixth seed of the lower left region of the bracket
- The Gators traveled for the First & Second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2020, where Florida earned a first-round bye before traveling to Omaha, Nebraska. The program made the Regional Final before falling to Wisconsin in five.
- Since 1987, the program has not hosted the First & Second Rounds five times: Omaha, NE (2020), Orlando, FL (2018), Cedar Falls, IA (2011), Tallahassee, FL (2004), Stetson, FL (1996)
FLORIDA'S NCAA HISTORY
- This is Florida's 34th-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament – making the field every year under Mary Wise
- This is the third-longest active streak in the nation behind Penn State – 44 and Nebraska – 43
- Overall, UF has been in the NCAA Tournament 35 times since the program's inception in 1984
- Florida has now made 30 Regional Semifinals and 17 Regional Championship appearances in program history
- UF is seeking its ninth all-time NCAA Semifinals appearance, looking to make it back for the first time since 2017
- Florida head coach Mary Wise boasts an 83-33 (.711) record all-time in the NCAA Tournament, with all of her postseason appearances coming with the Gators
- Her 83 NCAA Tournament wins is tied for fifth in Division I history
- The Gators carry an 84-34 (.717) all-time record in the NCAA Tournament
- Florida is 61-8 at home, 5-8 Away and 17-17 in neutral matches during NCAA Tournament play

SEC IN THE NCAA
- Five SEC Team advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinal: Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Texas and Texas A&M. The Big 10 accompanies the SEC with five teams competing at the regional semifinal: Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin. Pitt, Stanford & Louisville contends for ACC, Creighton & Marquette represent the Big East and Dayon playing for the Athletic 10 Conference.
- Nine SEC teams earned bid to the NCAA Tournament. The SEC joined the ACC and the Big Ten to lead all conferences with nine teams each to be selected to compete in the championship tournament: Kentucky, the SEC champion, earned the conference's automatic bid to the tournament, while Florida, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Texas A&M joined the 64-team field with their at-large bids to the NCAA Championship.
FLORIDA VS. THE FIELD
- The Gators are 9-5 against the NCAA Tournament field this season after securing a First & Second Round wins over NC State and No. 3 Kansas
- Florida has regular season wins against Colorado State, Florida State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Missouri
- Florida has recorded regular-season losses to Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Texas, and South Carolina (2)
- Against the field, Florida is hitting .264 and is averaging 13.25 kills per set
- The Gators are also averaging 12.57 assists per set, 2.13 blocks per set and 1.64 aces per set against the competition in the field.