Florida swept two matches each from Florida State, Miami and Florida International in a spring volleyball tournament Saturday at the Florida Gym.
Coach Mary Wise’s Gators opened the morning session with a 2-0 victory (25-21, 27-25) victory over Sun Belt Conference power and NCAA tournament qualifier Florida International. Then Florida ralled from one set down to beat Florida State, 2-1 (21-25, 25-21, 15-10). The Gators ended their morning work with a 2-0 victory (25-23, 25-22) against Miami.
In the afternoon, the Gators beat Miami 2-1 (25-17, 25-17, 13-15) and then beat FIU 2-0 (25-14, 25-20). In their final match, the Gators rallied in the second and third sets to beat Florida State, 2-1 (23-25, 25-23, 16-14).
“What we try to do with our spring competition is to use it as feedback for areas of improvement and concern,” Wise said. “This spring, we placed a lot of emphasis on points scoring, serving, kills and blocking. We are a much better blocking team right now than we were in the fall. Blocking is a skill that really comes with experience and we are an older team now.
“What we have learned about spring competition is that it’s not so much about the final score as it is about execution and technique,” Wise continued. “The question is ‘Are we getting better in all of the areas that we have been working on?’ and the answer is ‘Yes.’”
The Gators end their 2009 spring indoor season with a 9-1 record.
“Today was a lot of fun,” Florida libero Elyse Cusack said. “It was a great learning experience and we got a lot better. The spring season is always a great opportunity for us to improve and I thought we did that today.”
Florida closes out the spring season Saturday, April 18 when it plays host to the second annual Southeastern Conference Coaches Beach Volleyball Championship at Siesta Key near Sarasota.
RESULTS
Morning session
Florida def. Florida International, 2-0 (25-21, 27-25)
Florida State def. Miami, 2-0 (25-19, 25-23)
Florida def. Florida State, 2-1 (21-25, 25-21, 15-10)
Miami def. Florida International, 2-0 (25-19, 25-21)
Florida def. Miami, 2-0 (25-23, 25-22)
Florida International def. Florida State, 2-0 (25-19, 25-23)
Afternoon session
Florida def. Miami, 2-1 (25-17, 25-17, 13-15)
Florida State def. Florida International, 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 19-17)
Florida def. Florida International, 2-0 (25-14, 25-20)
Florida State def. Miami, 2-0 (25-17, 25-23)
Florida def. Florida State, 2-1 (23-25, 25-23, 16-14)
Florida International vs. Miami, did not play