Special report on the Florida Gators volleyball team:
PROVO, Utah – The Florida Gators’ volleyball team continues its NCAA Tournament run with a Regional Semifinal matchup against fourth-seeded BYU on Friday.
First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. MT and the match will be streamed on ESPN3 with Sam Gore and Dain Blanton on the call.
Tickets for both the regional semifinal and the regional final can be found at BYU’s ticket office website<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__byutickets.com_womens-2Dncaa-2Dvolleyball&d=DwIFAg&c=pZJPUDQ3SB9JplYbifm4nt2lEVG5pWx2KikqINpWlZM&r=6MG06PG_fwpe7ULfewi6NrFR2j_4ngNZtgGHhDCeRY0&m=8ntrDBVGLc-NYV3MM3nmHzVcltnWPkOY6AoPiXeOmnU&s=mwU__f1Bc4Rd-6r7x3LagH5eyPt7oBSdxDXbAnGogb8&e=>.
This is the second Gators squad that has reached the Regional Semifinal as an unseeded team – the last time was in 2011, when Florida reached the Regional Final. Overall, this is Florida’s 25th trip to the Regional Semifinal – the team is 16-8 in these matches.
Florida (26-6) holds the 5-3 series advantage over the Cougars, including a 5-0 record under Mary Wise. UF also holds the NCAA series advantage between the two squads, leading 1-0.
The last time these two teams met was in 2003 – when Florida swept BYU in Gainesville, Fla.
During the first two matches of the tournament, the Gators have not dropped a set, hitting .309. The squad is also holding opponents to a .137 hit clip. Paige Hammons is leading the offense with 5.00 kills per set, hitting .369.
The Gators are also averaging 3.00 blocks per set during the tournament, led by Rachael Kramer’s 1.83.
HOW TO FOLLOW – Florida vs. BYU
Time & Date: Friday, Dec. 7 | 6:30 p.m. ET
Live Stream: ESPN3<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.espn.com_watch&d=DwIFAg&c=pZJPUDQ3SB9JplYbifm4nt2lEVG5pWx2KikqINpWlZM&r=6MG06PG_fwpe7ULfewi6NrFR2j_4ngNZtgGHhDCeRY0&m=8ntrDBVGLc-NYV3MM3nmHzVcltnWPkOY6AoPiXeOmnU&s=WPIZqjdNhpuFCuKzBu4USuFiZxuXSIAXgwJiZ7m2fAA&e=>
Live Stats: NCAA.com<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.ncaa.com_game_volleyball-2Dwomen_d1_2018_12_07_florida-2Dbyu_recent-2Dstories&d=DwIFAg&c=pZJPUDQ3SB9JplYbifm4nt2lEVG5pWx2KikqINpWlZM&r=6MG06PG_fwpe7ULfewi6NrFR2j_4ngNZtgGHhDCeRY0&m=8ntrDBVGLc-NYV3MM3nmHzVcltnWPkOY6AoPiXeOmnU&s=m7gbTPfjMNj3h3eg1rxECXbDJxWeCjD0QLUXTiFnnWE&e=>
Tickets: BYU Ticket Office<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__byutickets.com_womens-2Dncaa-2Dvolleyball&d=DwIFAg&c=pZJPUDQ3SB9JplYbifm4nt2lEVG5pWx2KikqINpWlZM&r=6MG06PG_fwpe7ULfewi6NrFR2j_4ngNZtgGHhDCeRY0&m=8ntrDBVGLc-NYV3MM3nmHzVcltnWPkOY6AoPiXeOmnU&s=mwU__f1Bc4Rd-6r7x3LagH5eyPt7oBSdxDXbAnGogb8&e=>
SERIES INFORMATION
BYU | 29-1 overall, 17-1 WCC
* Florida leads: 5-3 (5-0 under Mary Wise)
* 3-set: 4-2 | 4-set: 1-1 | 5-set: 0-0
* Home: 2-2 | Away: 2-1 | Neutral: 1-0
* NCAA Tournament series: Florida leads, 1-0
* Last Time Out: Aug. 30, 2003 | Gainesville, Fla. | W, 3-0 (30-24, 30-19, 30-21)
* Notable: Fourth overall seed in the NCAA Tournament
SCOUTING THE REST OF THE FIELD
Texas | 22-4 overall, 15-1 BIG 12
* Florida leads: 15-10 (15-9 under Mary Wise)
* 3-set: 3-4 | 4-set: 4-3 | 5-set: 8-3
* Home: 7-4 | Away: 6-4 | Neutral: 2-2
* NCAA Tournament series: Florida leads, 5-4
* Last Time Out: Aug. 25, 2018 | Lincoln, Neb. | L, 2-3 (18-25, 25-21, 25-21, 21-25, 10-15)
* Notable: Fifth overall seed in the NCAA Tournament
Michigan | 24-9 overall, 11-9 BIG TEN
* Florida leads: 4-0 (4-0 under Mary Wise)
* 3-set: 4-0 | 4-set: 0-0 | 5-set: 0-0
* Home: 2-0 | Away: 1-0 | Neutral: 1-0
* NCAA Tournament series: 1-0
* Last Time Out: Dec. 9, 2011 | Gainesville, Fla. | W, 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 27-25)
* Notable: 12th appearance in the last 13 seasons, 18th tournament appearance overall
PROVO THIRD & FOURTH ROUNDS SCHEDULE (all times Eastern)
* Regional Semifinal Matches | Friday, Dec. 7
o Match 1 – No. 5 Texas vs. Michigan – 4:00 p.m. – ESPNU
o Match 2 – No. 4 BYU vs. Florida – 6:30 p.m. – ESPN3
* Regional Final Match | Saturday, Dec. 8
o Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2 – 8:00 p.m. – ESPNU
FLORIDA NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTABLES
* The Gators are 6-6 in the regular season against the 2018 NCAA Tournament Field
* Florida’s 28 all-time NCAA Tournament ties Arizona for the 10th-most in Division I history, trailing Penn State (38) Stanford (38), Hawaii (37), Nebraska (37), Southern California (36), UCLA (36), Texas (35), BYU (31), Colorado State (30)
* The Gators have made 25 Regional Semifinals and 16 Regional Championships in program history
* The Gators are 73-28 in their previous 28 NCAA appearances
* Mary Wise boasts a 72-27 (.727) all-time record in the tournament
* Florida is 4-7 on the road and 14-14 in neutral locations, but holds a 16-8 record in regional semifinal games and a 8-8 record in regional final matches
* This is Florida’s 25th trip to the regional semifinal in program history
NCAA Tournament LINKS