Special report on the Florida Gators volleyball team:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The third-ranked Florida volleyball team (4-0) is set to host the Gators Invitational, beginning Thursday afternoon.
The Gators welcome Sacramento State (5-1), Clemson (4-2) and Winthrop (0-6) to the three-day tournament.
Florida is set to take on the Sacramento State Hornets on Thursday at 7 p.m., the Clemson Tigers on Friday at 7 p.m. and then wrap up the invitational on Saturday at 3 p.m. against Winthrop. The neutral site matches will begin at 4 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday, followed by a 12 p.m. first serve on Saturday.
Thursday’s match will air on SEC Network +, while Friday’s match can be viewed on the SEC Network with Kevin Fitzgerald and Missy Whittemore on the call.
All three matches can be heard on FloridaGators.com/watch with a mix of Tom Collett, Nick Cheronis and Nevada Cullen on the call.
Florida has faced off against both Sacramento State and Clemson in previous seasons, holding the 1-0 and 3-0 records, respectively. The Gators and the Eagles have not competed in program history.
Parking
- For the 4 p.m. matches on both Thursday and Friday, parking in the orange flat lot next to the Stephen C. O’Connell Center will lift at 3 p.m. for fans
- For Friday’s match, fans can also park at Flavet Field and walk over to the O’Connell Center
- Saturday Parking Information:
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- Fans can park at Garage IX (South side of Gale Lemerand and Archer)
- There will be a free shuttle from 11:30-3 leaving the garage and dropping fans off at the O’Connell Center
- After 3 p.m., fans arriving will be charged
- Each person that parks in the garage will receive a voucher that they will use for the shuttle and fans should keep that voucher/ticket for the ride back post-match
National Spotlight
- As a team, the Gators are ranked in the Top-30 in the nation in the following:
- Hitting percentage (24th | .291)
- Assists per set (25th | 13.13)
- Individually, three Gators are ranked in the Top-15 nationally:
- Kennedy Martin: points per set (4th | 5.97) | kills per set (6th | 5.07)
- Alexis Stucky: assists per set (12th | 11.13)
Players of the Week
- For their performances last week against two Top-5 opponents, Kennedy Martin and Alexis Stucky earned SEC honors
- Martin earned the second SEC Overall/Offensive Player of the Week title of her career on Sept. 4.
- Against two Top-5 opponents, Martin averaged 5.17 kills per set with a .343 clip, to go along with 1.83 digs per set, 0.83 blocks per set, 0.50 aces per set and 6.17 points per set
- In the matchup against then-No. 2 Stanford, the freshman tallied a team-high 16 kills with only three errors for her .394 hitting percentage. She also posted four blocks, four digs and two aces to secure the sweep for Florida
- Against Minnesota, she registered 15 kills – leading the offense for the fourth-straight match. She added seven digs, a block and an ace in the victory
- The Fort Mill, S.C. native has the most kills for a Florida freshman through the first four matches with 76
- Stucky was tabbed as SEC Setter of the Week for the first time this season on Sept. 4
- She earned the honor after averaging 11.00 assists per set and leading the team to a .284 clip in the sweeps. The sophomore also averaged 1.50 kills per set, 3.83 digs per set and added a .727 hitting percentage in the two matches
- Against the second-ranked Cardinal, the Laramie, Wyo. native dished out 34 assists in the three-setter. She anchored Florida’s offense to a .324 clip, while also recording 12 digs and four kills. That was Stucky’s first double-double of the season and sixth overall
- In the matchup against the Golden Gophers, Stucky recorded yet another double-double with her 32 assists and 11 digs. She tied her career-high with five kills and set a new career-best in hitting percentage, ending the three-setter with a .833 clip
Last Time Out
- The then-eighth-ranked Florida volleyball team continued its hot streak on Sept. 3, topping No. 5 Minnesota in straight-sets
- Florida won the first frame 25-22 to take the lead in the match, then cruised to the 25-18 win in the second. The Gators secured the win with a tightly-contested 25-23 victory in the final frame
- Kennedy Martin posted a team-high 15 kills in the match, followed by eight from Anna Dixon. AC Fitzpatrick and Sofia Victoria each registered seven kills apiece from the left
- Alexis Stucky dished out 32 assists in the victory, followed by seven from Elli McKissock in the three-setter
- As a team, Florida held Minnesota to a .147 clip, tallying 5.0 blocks. Gabrielle Essix, Victoria and Dixon each registered a team-high two blocks at the net
- McKissock paced the backcourt defense with 15 digs, followed by Trinity Adams’ career-high 12. Stucky added 11 in the match, good for her second double-double of the year, while Martin (7) and Emily Canaan (6) combined for 13.
No. 3 Florida vs. Sacramento State Broadcast Information
Date & Time: Sept. 7 | 7 p.m.
Live Stream: SEC Network+ | Live Stats: Statbroadcast | Radio: FloridaGators.com/watch | Tickets: FloridaGators
Series Information – No. 3 Florida vs. Sacramento State
Hornets | 2023 season: 5-2, 0-0 Big Sky
- This is the second meeting between the Gators and the Hornets
- Florida leads 1-0 (1-0 under Mary Wise)
- 3-set: 1-0 | 4-set: 0-0 | 5-set: 0-0
- Home: 0-0 | Away: 1-0 | Neutral: 0-0
- Last Time Out: Aug. 28, 2021 | Sacramento, Calif. | W, 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-20)
No. 3 Florida vs. Clemson Broadcast Information
Date & Time: Sept. 8 | 7 p.m.
Live Stream: SEC Network+ | Live Stats: Statbroadcast | Radio: FloridaGators.com/watch | Tickets: FloridaGators
Series Information – No. 3 Florida vs. Clemson
Tigers | 2023 season: 4-2, 0-0 ACC
- This is the fourth meeting between the Gators and the Tigers
- Florida leads 3-0 (3-0 under Mary Wise)
- 3-set: 3-0 | 4-set: 0-0 | 5-set: 0-0
- Home: 3-0 | Away: 0-0 | Neutral: 0-0
- Last Time Out: Sept. 3, 2011 | Gainesville, Fla. | W, 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-18)
No. 3 Florida vs. Winthrop Broadcast Information
Date & Time: Sept. 9 | 3 p.m.
Live Stats: Statbroadcast | Radio: FloridaGators.com/watch | Tickets: FloridaGators
Series Information – No. 3 Florida vs. Winthrop
Eagles | 2023 season: 0-6, 0-0 Big South
- This is the first meeting between the Gators and the Eagles