Even playing at their best, the Florida Gators didn’t have enough to beat volleyball juggernaut Penn State Friday in the semifinals of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament Gainesville Regional at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
Coach Mary Wise’s team came in riding high on emotion and adrenaline. The Gators were coming off two of their better hitting performances of the season after 3-0 victories over College of Charleston and FIU.
But there is a reason why Penn State has won an NCAA-record 99 straight matches and the top-ranked Nittany Lions showed those credentials in a 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-21) victory that ended Florida’s season at 25-6. Penn State (35-0) will meet California (21-10) Saturday at 4 p.m. for a spot in the NCAA Final Four semifinals next Thursday at Tampa’s St. Pete Times Forum.
The loss also ended the career of two seniors – Elyse Cusack and Kristina Johnson. Before the match was over, Cusack etched a spot for herself in the Southeastern Conference record book with 15 digs that left her with a career total of 2,138, 12 more than second-place Ashley Miller of Arkansas.
“I had a great run here, a great four years,” Cusack said. “I think if you work hard every day in practice and in training, eventually it’s going to pay off. Holding records and stuff like that, I think it’s just the hard work finally paying off.”
Wise applauded at the mention of Cusack’s achievement, and it was clear that Cusack was one of those players that would not be forgotten by the coach.
“Both those seniors leave different legacies, but very important legacies,” Wise said. “Elyse, obviously, you finish your career as a four-year starter and No. 1 in the record books at your own school and in the conference. That’s pretty special. Kristina Johnson, the legacy she will leave in terms of what she has meant to our team, especially in her leadership skills off the court. Remember, this is a player who’s going to do missionary work in South Africa in January. That’s pretty amazing.”
Even though Cusack did not leave Florida with a win in her final match, she can take solace in the fact that she caused frustration for a team that has had very few bumps along the road in the past two seasons. Penn State coach Russ Rose said that one of the few things he was disappointed in his team was their continuing service to Cusack, saying that he preferred to keep the ball out of her hands as much as possible.
It was a sign of great respect, and Cusack’s ability to continually find a way to the ball all night long showed why she was able to entrench herself in the record books at the end of her career at Florida.
“I was trying to be more aggressive on serves, stealing balls away from other people, which is my job,” Cusack said. “I was trying to be aggressive.”
Aggressive would describe how the Gators went after Penn State in a performance that made Wise proud.
“I thought we played hard,” Cusack said. “We went out there and left everything out on the court. We did everything we could. Penn State played great. They’re a great ball-control team, and we couldn’t really match that tonight. We did what we could and played hard.”
The Gators’ toughness kept them in the match at moments. The Gators hoped to steal a set against a Penn State team that has dropped only five all season, hoping that one set could turn into the momentum needed to pull off the upset.
Florida fought hard right out of the gate, going toe-to-toe with Goliath for the first part of set one before the Nittany Lions pulled away with extremely quick and efficient strikes. But the Gators knew that was to be expected and it did not deter them in the least.
“It was frustrating,” sophomore Colleen Ward said. “But we were expecting them to come back. We weren’t expecting an easy win whatsoever. I was proud of us for getting the runs, but you have to keep playing, no matter how many points you get in a row, and they just stopped us when they could.”
Florida continued to fight throughout the match, getting closer and closer to Penn State with each passing set. They had practiced all week and watched videos trying to prepare for the unparalleled athleticism they would see on Friday night, but nothing can prepare you for the real thing until you experience it firsthand.
“You can practice it all you want all week,” Cusack said. “But you’re not used to the height that they play or the speed that they play. Once we got the first game under our belt, we thought it’s going to be OK. We just have to play a lot harder. We didn’t really do anything tactically different. We just knew we had to play a lot harder. I think we did that in games two and three.”
The Gators came out in that third set and fought like a team with their backs against the wall, like a team that had nothing to lose. They were able to put the Nittany Lions on their heels for much of the final set, taking a 9-7 lead on a Callie Rivers’ kill, but Penn State quickly stormed back with an 8-1 run.
The Gators almost rode the emotional wave of the electric O’Connell Center crowd to a third-set victory as they got within striking distance at 23-20, but it wasn’t enough to prolong the inevitable.
Penn State’s Megan Hodge (20 kills) and Blair Brown (11) led an attack that hit 55 kills on a .454 attacking percentage in the match, keying off Alisha Glass’s 45 assists. Penn State simply hit balls that were so quick and so well-placed that they were virtually indefensible.
“They were getting some swings that we would go out for the dig,” Ward said, “but they were just great swings that you couldn’t reach.”
The Gators were led by Kristy Jaeckel’s nine kills, along with Ward’s eight and Rivers’ seven. Kelly Murphy guided the offense with 26 assists. Florida, which hit .189, was stifled by Penn State’s blocking and ability to cover all parts of the floor as the Nittany Lions made saves on several spikes that easily landed for Gator kills all season long.
The Gators walked off the court and held their heads high in the end. They went up against history and gave it their best shot. As the previous 98 teams could attest to, the key to solving the Penn State puzzle is not easy to find, if it even exists.
“No one else has been able to have that magic answer yet either,” Wise said when asked if she could foresee anyone knocking off Penn State this year.
When the curtain closed on 2009, Florida said goodbye to one of the best players in the program’s history on Friday night, but the future is certainly bright for a team that will bring back its entire core other than Cusack.
“I feel like we’re at a really good starting point for 2010,” Wise said. “This will be where we begin for next year.”
Even though the Gators did not ultimately prevail, the heart and soul they showed on Friday night is certainly a good springboard for next season.
NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
GAINESVILLE REGIONAL
SEMIFINALS
Friday, Dec. 11 at Gainesville, Fla.
(1) Penn State 3, (16) Florida 0
(9) California 3, Baylor 0
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, Dec. 12 at Gainesville, Fla.
(1) Penn State (35-0) vs. (9) California (21-10), 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
STANFORD REGIONAL
SEMIFINALS
Friday, Dec. 11 at Stanford, Calif.
(12) Hawaii 3, (5) Illinois 1
(13) Michigan (26-9) vs. (4) Stanford (23-7), 10 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, Dec. 12 at Stanford, Calif.
(12) Hawaii (30-2) vs. Michigan/Stanford winner, 11:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
MINNEAPOLIS REGIONAL
SEMIFINALS
Friday, Dec. 11 at Minneapolis, Minn.
(3) Florida State 3, Kentucky 2
(11) Minnesota 3, Colorado State 1
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, Dec. 12 at Minneapolis, Minn.
(3) Florida State (31-2) vs. (11) Minnesota (27-8), 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
OMAHA REGIONAL
SEMIFINALS
Friday, Dec. 11 at Omaha, Neb.
(2) Texas 3, Texas A&M 0
(10) Nebraska 3, (7) Iowa State 0
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, Dec. 12 at Omaha, Neb.
(2) Texas (27-1) vs. (10) Nebraska (26-6), 9 p.m. (ESPNU)
FINAL FOUR AT TAMPA
Dec. 17 semifinals
Gainesville regional winner vs. Stanford regional winner, 7 or 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Minneapolis regional winner vs. Omaha, Neb. Winner, 7 or 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Dec. 19 championship
Semifinal winners, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)