The fifth-ranked Florida Gators had been on the road for so long that they thought their fans might have forgotten about them. As a reminder, the Gators’ volleyball team had perhaps its most dominating performance of the season.
Energized by their first match at the O’Connell Center since Aug. 31, coach Mary Wise’s Gators scored a 3-0 victory (25-12, 25-14, 25-18) over Mississippi State Friday night to move to 3-0 in the SEC East race and 9-1 overall.
“We have a lot of fans,” said sophomore Cassandra Anderson. “We weren’t expecting that. We do usually get a lot of fans, but we didn’t think a lot of people would know since we’ve been gone so many weekends.”
“And there is an away football game,” junior Callie Rivers added. “But it’s great to see how many supporters we have. They gave us tons of energy throughout the entire game.”
After disposing of the Bulldogs (4-10, 0-3 SEC West), Florida is host to Alabama at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
“It felt good to be at home again after being on the road for three weekends in a row,” Rivers said. “It felt really good.”
It felt especially good for Rivers, who made her first start of the season and capitalized on the opportunity. Rivers knocked home nine kills for a .500 attacking percentage and raised her kills per set average from 0.52 to 0.77 after the solid performance.
This season Rivers is playing on the left side of the court, a switch that she made about a month ago from the right side that she has played for all of her time at Florida. She is still getting used to her new position, but certainly showed huge strides in her first start.
“There are times,” Wise said, “where it looks maybe not as smooth as when she plays on the left side of the position that she’s played all her life.”
With the outcome of the match never in question throughout the night, Wise rode Rivers’ hot hand and also experimented with playing her on the court with players she usually doesn’t play with. Wise even had one lineup featuring four of her best attackers – Rivers, Lauren Bledsoe, Kristy Jaeckel and Colleen Ward – on the court at the same time.
“What we’re trying to do is be like a football team and get the ball to as many playmakers as you can,” Wise said. “We like what those options give us.”
Along with mixing and matching her premier playmakers, Wise also got a chance to see some players who haven’t really had much playing time this season. Freshman Sundai Weston and sophomore Elissa Hausmann entered the game for the first time this season. Redshirt freshman Betsy Smith made her ninth set appearance of the season and is a player that Wise hopes to give more playing time to so that she can get a chance to start making an impact on games.
“The more versatile we can be, based on our opponent, based on their strengths, determines which lineup we use and how we can plug in players,” Wise said. “This team has versatility and we’ve had Florida teams in the past that haven’t. It’s a great opportunity for us to use our talents.”
Of course those talents meant contribution from the usual suspects as well in Friday’s victory.
Sophomore Kelly Murphy led the way with yet another dominating performance. She just missing out on a triple-double with 12 kills, 28 assists and seven digs. She also made a block and a service ace in the game.
Ward was second on the team with 11 kills and also knocked home three service aces in the first set to get the Gators’ momentum started. Anderson had the most efficient night of all the Gators with eight kills on 10 attacks for an .800 attacking percentage, while also adding 1.5 blocks. Senior Elyse Cusack was her usual self as the anchor of the back line, digging 16 balls and adding six assists.
Even though the Gators put together a dominating performance, there were some runs in the game that Florida gave away several easy points. The high energy level that came from finally getting to play at the O’Dome again might have contributed a little bit to some of the errors.
“This team is a full-throttle type team in the way we serve and the way we swing,” Wise said. “I think we are learning when to take something off. When you play aggressively, you are going to make errors. I can live with the errors as long as they’re smart and aggressive.”
Wise knows that her team can’t afford to give away points when more talented teams are on the opposite side of the net, but she also knows that she has a young team that is still learning how to maximize their immense talents.
“I think that’s part of the process as we’re continuing to mature,” Wise said. “Right now, we’re an athletic team that plays hard. Are we an advanced volleyball team maturity wise, meaning experience in playing together? No and that’s a process. But all the pieces are here.”
Once all the pieces come together, the Gators might be a puzzle that no opponent can solve.