Florida Volleyball rolls past #10 San Diego

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Gator freshman middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan was unstoppable Thursday as the No. 10 Florida volleyball squad (4-2) swept through No. 13 San Diego (5-2) to open play at the USC Classic at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. The Gators downed the Toreros 25-22, 25-19 and 25-14 and delivered head coach Mary Wise career win No. 799, one away from the 800-victory milestone.



Alhassan hit .800 for the second time this season, Thursday with a career-high 16 kills on 20 errorless swings, while leading the Gators in blocking for the sixth straight match with five against the Toreros. Sophomore right side Alex Holston turned in a career-best .538 hitting efficiency (7-0-13) and freshman outside hitter Carli Snyder had herself a night with a .462 clip and eight kills as the Gators registered their best offensive output of the season with a .449 hitting percentage.



The Orange and Blue will now set sights on home team and tournament host, No. 6 USC, as the Gators and Trojans match up at 10:30 p.m. ET Friday in front of a Pac-12 Networks<http://pac-12.com/networks> audience with Anne Marie Anderson and Holly McPeak on the call.



BY THE NUMBERS

*         799: career win total for head coach Mary Wise (799-149, .843), just one victory away from the 800-win milestone. Wise will be the fifth Division I female head coach -- and the only active female head coach -- to reach 800 career victories

*         .750: freshman middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan has hit .750 or higher in three matches this season (.750: Georgia Southern, .812: Idaho, .800: San Diego). Alhassan's 16 kills and 19.0 points were both career bests. She has now led the Gators in blocking all six matches (5 vs. San Diego)

*         .538: career-best hitting efficiency for sophomore right side Alex Holston (7-0-13)

*         .385: hitting efficiency for junior middle blocker Simone Antwi (6-1-13). Antwi also had two blocks, tied for second on the Gators squad against the Toreros with junior outside hitter Noami Santos-Lamb

*         .400: the Gators hit .400 or higher in all three sets Thursday (.440, .464, 440) for a .449 clip as a team, their best hitting efficiency of the season so far and the highest since UF's three-set win over Jacksonville in 2013 NCAA Tournament play

*         12: the jersey number of four-time All-American Gator and US National Team member Kelly Murphy, who cheered on the Gators in the Galen Center alongside 2012 All-American Tangerine Wiggs

*         11: digs for senior defensive specialist Holly Pole, who was UF's starting libero for the third straight match. Pole scooped up double-digit digs for the third time in UF's last four matches. Pole led all players on the floor with her 11 digs

*         6: attack errors for the Gators, their lowest number of miscues this season

*         4: service aces for UF Thursday, continuing the trend of at least four in every match this season

*         4: teams at the USC Classic in Los Angeles, including host and Pac-12 squad No. 6 USC, No. 13 San Diego from the West Coast Conference and two SEC squads with No. 10 Florida and Texas A&M

*         3: three-set sweeps for the Orange and Blue on the 2014 season. Florida's sweep against San Diego was its first win over a ranked opponent this season



GETTING WISE

"The numbers that jump out would be Rhamat's -- sixteen kills, then the 20 swings and hitting .800. That's a pretty special performance by her, but there were a lot of factors that contributed to that: Mackenzie's setting, our first contact by our passers and defenders. For us to hit .449 against such a high quality opponent in San Diego speaks really well for the advances our team is making so early in this season."



UP NEXT

Florida will now tilt with the home team, No. 6 USC, Friday evening in the Galen Center. The match-up will be the eighth between the two programs, all under head coach Mary Wise. Last time out in 2005 at the UTSA Dome Rally in San Antonio, the Gators downed the Trojans in five. Friday's match will mark the fourth between the two squads in Los Angeles.



UP FOR THE CHALLENGE

*         Six of Florida's first eight matches have been, or are, against opponents ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Top 25 (in order of schedule): Oklahoma (rv), No. 8 FSU, No. 3 Texas, No. 15 San Diego, No. 6 USC & Marquette (rv)

*         Seven of Florida's first eight opponents made the 2013 NCAA Tournament: add season-opening opponent Georgia Southern to the above list. The Eagles were in the Gainesville sub regional last December

 

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.