The 16th-seeded Florida Gators have put together all the necessary ingredients to succeed in the NCAA Tournament – a powerful offense, stalwart defense and talented servers.
But Mary Wise’s Gators knew coming into their second-round matchup with FIU that one ingredient would be more important than any other for their recipe to success: Emotion.
When the Gators, who opened with a victory over College of Charleston Thursday, watched the FIU Panthers play, they saw an outpouring of emotion throughout their opening-round victory over Miami, and they knew that if they could one-up the Panthers and bring more emotion to the court then they would live to fight another day in the tournament.
The Gators did just that, beating FIU 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-16) to advance to the regional they will host next week at the O’Connell Center.
“We knew they play with so much emotion and we had to match that,” senior Elyse Cusack said. “If we didn’t and we played flat, we knew they were going to take advantage of that. So we knew coming in that we needed to celebrate every point like it was our last and I think we did that.”
After each point the Gators scored, they celebrated more than they had in some victories this season, and the emotional outbursts carried over into their play as the match went on. The Gators will need all the emotion and skill they can muster next Friday because they may be playing the reigning NCAA champion Penn State Nittany Lions.
At the outset of the match, it was clear the Gators had to kick the adrenaline into an extra gear to keep up with the emotionally-fueled Panthers, who gave Florida everything they had to open the first set. The Panthers seemed to destroy the ball with every swing of the arm, even knocking Florida’s players back on a few occasions, particularly Cusack, who seemed to be knocked off her feet by one devastating kill early in the set.
“They did come out strong,” Cusack said. “They hit a couple balls right at my head.”
The Gators seemed to be in for a dogfight and faced a 19-17 deficit to see who would jump out to the early lead in the match when Wise called a timeout. Up to that point, the Gators had been focusing mostly on the tactical aspects of the game, but after the timeout, Florida turned the emotional meter up another notch and went on an 8-3 run to win the first set and take control of the match.
Even after Florida took a little bit of the wind out of their sails by winning the first set, the Panthers came out strong in the second and battled the Gators point-for-point until Florida finally decided to step on the gas again and put the match away, going on a 7-0 run to end the second set and virtually the match.
“I think we did a great job when we were on top, which is something that we’ve kind of not been great at all year,” Cusack said. “When we’re up by a few points, we’ll usually let down and get content with that. We did a great job of pushing even more. That’s what great teams do, and that’s what we did tonight.”
What the Gators also did was stay one step ahead of the Panthers all night. As Florida started to become comfortable with FIU’s tendencies, the Gators seemingly made adjustments to each and every Panther tactic, playing several moves ahead in the chess match.
“It was all tactical,” Wise said. “Based on this personnel, this is what they’re doing, and I thought the players were very mindful of the game plan the entire match. FIU made some changes in their lineup, and the players were able to process that information and make their adjustments. This team couldn’t do that three months ago.”
The biggest adjustment came on the front line. The Gators allowed FIU to hit .273 in the opening set, with the Panthers hitting over .400 halfway through the opening frame, and there came a point where Wise became worried about her team’s lack of front-line defense.
“The teams that have had any kind of success against Florida International has been by blocking balls,” Wise said. “When we didn’t block balls early on, we were a little concerned. Would we be able to come back? Could we win this match without blocking? The good news is we tightened up and started blocking balls.”
Florida locked down the opposition’s attack the rest of the way, forcing FIU to hit .000 the rest of the way. As the match wore on, Florida’s blocking seemed to intensify, culminating in seven of the team’s 12 blocks coming in the final frame. Sophomore Cassandra Anderson led the way with two solo blocks and five assisted blocks.
“The longer the match went on, we adjusted more,” Anderson said. “We saw the way they were hitting and we decided we needed to take away their tendencies. The more the match went on that just helped us figure out where we needed to put the blocks.”
The Florida offense also put together another efficient attacking performance, hitting .375 as a team. Callie Rivers and Anderson led the way with nine kills apiece, while Kristy Jaeckel and Colleen Ward each added eight of their own. Once again, Kelly Murphy directed the efficient offense, dishing out 32 assists in the match.
Cusack dug out 19 balls in the match, moving her to within four of becoming the SEC’s all-time digs leader.
But the match did come with a little disappointment, as FIU’s star Yarimar Rosa, who also played with the Puerto Rican national team over the summer, was limited with an injured shin and only played limited minutes in the match. Just one night prior, Rosa willed her team to victory with 16 kills and 21 digs in the five-set victory over Miami. The outcome may not have been any different with a healthy Rosa, but competitors want to win without any questions after the match.
“I know deep down that there is an asterisk and that is Rosa,” Wise said. “If she is 100 percent healthy, she’s one of the most dynamic outside hitters. She led the nation in kills a year ago. I hate to see that for any player, especially in her senior year, not to be at full strength.”
Wise recalled watching Rosa play in FIU’s opening-round loss to Colorado State in Gainesville to open last year’s tournament and came away impressed.
“It’s a shame because she’s such a terrific player,” Wise said. “A year ago we saw them in the first round when they played Colorado State, and I remember thinking, ‘I don’t know who we want to win this’ because I know we didn’t want any part of FIU, and I knew how good Colorado State was. I’ve been dreading for a year having to play her.”
FIU coach Danijela Tomic teared up a little when talking about having to watch Rosa sit on the bench in her final game in a Panther uniform, saying that she didn’t know if anyone would ever be able to match the importance that Rosa had for the program.
“She’s the heart and soul of our team,” Tomic said. “No matter how much you tell the team they can do it, they know how much she means to the team. When they see her on the bench crying, it’s not easy to overcome. She’s a warrior, that’s all I can say.”
At the end of the day, Florida moved on to the Round of 16, and even though it is yet undetermined who the Gators will play, the one team that’s on everyone’s mind is Penn State.
“Right now it’s all about Penn State,” Cusack said before being interrupted by her coach’s “perhaps,” knowing that anything is possible.
But even Tomic knows that it is virtually inevitable that Penn State, which is the two-time defending national champions and has won an NCAA-record 97 consecutive matches, will be waiting for Florida next weekend.
“I hope they do well next week against Penn State to represent the state of Florida,” Tomic said.
The point that Wise made is one that she will surely make to her team in the coming week, that anything is possible. If the Gators bring the emotion and all-around game they have brought in the past several matches, they just may be able to shock the volleyball world.
NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
GAINESVILLE REGIONAL
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, Dec. 3 at Gainesville, Fla.
FIU 3, Miami (Fla.) 2
(16) Florida 3, College of Charleston 0
Friday, Dec. 4 at State College, Pa.
(1) Penn State 3, Binghamton 0
Pennsylvania 3, Army 1
Friday, Dec. 4 at Columbus, Ohio
Ohio State 3, Cincinnati 1
(9) California 3, Lipscomb 0
Friday, Dec. 4 at Los Angeles
Baylor 3, Georgia Tech 0
(8) UCLA 3, Long Beach State
SECOND ROUND
Friday, Dec. 4 at Gainesville, Fla.
Florida 3, FIU 0
Saturday, Dec. 5 at State College, Pa.
Pennsylvania (23-5) vs. (1) Penn State (33-0), 5 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 5 at Columbus, Ohio
(9) California (19-10) vs. Ohio State (25-9), 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 5 at Los Angeles
(8) UCLA (24-8) vs. Baylor (23-9), 10 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Thursday, Dec. 11 at Gainesville, Fla.
(16) Florida (25-5) vs. (1) Penn State-Pennsylvania winner
(9) California-Ohio State winner vs. (8) UCLA-Baylor winner
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, Dec. 12 at Gainesville, Fla.
Semifinal winners, 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
STANFORD REGIONAL
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, Dec. 3 at Champaign, Ill.
(5) Illinois 3, Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne 0
Dayton 3, Milwaukee 2
Friday, Dec. 4 at Los Angeles
Southern California 3, Oklahoma 0
(12) Hawaii 3, New Mexico 0
Friday, Dec. 4 at Ann Arbor, Mich.
(13) Michigan 3, Niagara 0
Ohio 3, Notre Dame 2
Friday, Dec. 4 at Stanford, Calif.
St. Mary’s (Calif.) 3, UC Santa Barbara 2
(4) Stanford 3, Long Island 0
SECOND ROUND
Friday, Dec. 4 at Champaign, Ill.
(5) Illinois 3, Daytona 1
Saturday, Dec. 5 at Los Angeles
Southern California (22-9) vs. (12) Hawaii (28-2), 9 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 5 at Ann Arbor, Mich.
(13) Michigan (25-9) vs. Ohio (27-6), 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 5 at Stanford, Calif.
St. Mary’s (Calif.) (23-4) vs. (4) Stanford (22-7), 7:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, Dec. 11 at Stanford, Calif.
(5) Illinois (26-5) vs. (12) Hawaii-Southern California winner
(13) Michigan-Ohio winner vs. (4) Stanford-St. Mary’s (Calif.)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, Dec. 12 at Stanford, Calif.
Semifinal winners, 11:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
MINNEAPOLIS REGIONAL
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, Dec. 3 at Fort Collins, Colo.
(6) Washington 3, Northern Colorado 1
Colorado State 3, Middle Tennessee State 2
Friday, Dec. 4 at Knoxville, Tenn.
(11) Minnesota 3, Louisville 1
Tennessee 3, Duke 1
Friday, Dec. 4 at Lexington, Ky.
Kentucky 3, Michigan State 0
(14) Oregon 3, Clemson 0
Saturday, Dec. 5 at Tallahassee, Fla.
(3) Florida State (28-2) vs. Alabama A&M (18-10)
Florida A&M (17-9) vs. Jacksonville State (26-7)
SECOND ROUND
Friday, Dec. 4 at Fort Collins, Colo.
Colorado State 3, (6) Washington 1
Saturday, Dec. 5 at Lexington, Ky.
(14) Oregon (20-9) vs. Kentucky (28-4), 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 5 at Knoxville, Tenn.
(11) Minnesota (25-8) vs. Tennessee (24-7), 7 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 6 at Tallahassee, Fla.
(3) Florida State-Alabama A&M winner vs. Florida A&M-Jacksonville State winner
SEMIFINALS
Friday, Dec. 11 at Minneapolis, Minn.
Colorado State (25-5) vs. (11) Minnesota-Tennessee winner
(14) Oregon-Kentucky winner vs. (3) Florida State-Alabama A&M/Florida A&M-Jacksonville State winner
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, Dec. 12 at Minneapolis, Minn.
Semifinal winners, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
OMAHA REGIONAL
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, Dec. 3 at Austin, Texas
(2) Texas 3, Texas State 0
Texas Christian 3, Rice 0
Friday, Dec. 4 at Ames, Iowa
(7) Iowa State 3, George Mason 0
Wichita State 3, Saint Louis 1
Friday, Dec. 4 at Lincoln, Neb.
(10) Nebraska 3, Coastal Carolina 0
Northern Iowa 3, Washington State 0
Friday, Dec. 4 at Baton Rouge, La.
(15) Louisiana State 3, Tulane 0
Texas A&M 3, Arizona 1
SECOND ROUND
Friday, Dec. 4 at Austin, Texas
(2) Texas 3, Texas Christian 0
Saturday, Dec. 5 at Baton Rouge, La.
(15) Louisiana State (25-6) vs. Texas A&M (19-10), 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 5 at Ames, Iowa
(7) Iowa State (26-4) vs. Wichita State (26-6), 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 5 at Lincoln, Neb.
(10) Nebraska (24-6) vs. Northern Iowa (31-2), 6 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, Dec. 11 at Omaha, Neb.
(2) Texas (26-1) vs. (15) Louisiana State-Texas A&M winner
(7) Iowa State-Wichita State winner vs. (10) Nebraska-Northern Iowa winner
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, Dec. 12 at Omaha, Neb.
Semifinal winners, 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)