Gators Meet No. 18 Lady Vols in Key Match-Up
Saturday, September 18, 2010 | Volleyball
Fresh off its 20th consecutive win in a Southeastern Conference opener, the No. 3 Florida volleyball team travels to Knoxville, Tenn., on Sunday to take on No. 18 Tennessee in a key SEC Eastern Division match-up. Opening serve in Thompson-Boling Arena is slated for 2 p.m. ET and the match will be carried live on CSS and ROCK 104. Cox Sports Television will air the match in the Gainesville market (Channel 259 on Cox Cable).
The Gators (7-1, 1-0 SEC) were led by junior right-side/setter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) in their win against the 22nd-ranked Wildcats, as she recorded a match-high 17 kills on .520 hitting with 23 assists to go along with five digs and for blocks for a match-high 20.0 points. Florida's pin hitters were the key to the victory, accounting for 45 of the team's 54 kills in the match.
Florida has defeated five opponents already this season who have been ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches' Association Top-25 Poll at the time of the match and hold a 5-1 record against ranked foes this season.
On the season, Murphy leads the Gators with 2.91 kills per set on .368 hitting with a squad-best 5.22 assists per set to complement 1.88 digs per set and 0.66 blocks per set for a team-high 112.5 points. Junior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) and senior outside hitter Callie Rivers (Winter Park, Fla.) follow with 2.19 kills per set and 2.16 kills per set, respectively.
Senior libero Erin Fleming (Orlando, Fla.) directs Florida's back-row effort with 3.31 digs per set, while junior middle blocker Cassandra Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif.) and senior middle blocker Lauren Bledsoe (Long Beach, Calif.) average 1.03 and 1.00 blocks per set, respectively.
Florida recorded double-figure blocks for the sixth time in eight matches on Friday night, posting 10 blocks. The Gators have out-blocked their opponents 85.5-68.5 this season, a +17 margin.
The Gators and Lady Vols meet for the 50th time in the history of the two programs, tied for the third-longest rivalry in UF school history. UF leads the all-time series 40-9, including a 36-4 tally under Wise's direction. The Gators hold a 17-4 edge when the match is played in Knoxville. The two teams split a pair of matches last season with Florida winning in Gainesville and Tennessee coming away with the win in Knoxville.
Tennessee improved to 9-1 overall and 1-0 in SEC play with a 3-1 win against South Carolina on Friday evening. Senior outside hitter Nikki Fowler led the way for the Lady Vols with 13 kills on .444 hitting with 15 digs, while junior outside hitter Kayla Jeter also posted 13 kills.
On the season, Fowler leads the way for the Lady Vols with 3.68 kills per set, while Jeter and Kelsey Robinson follow with 2.50 and 2.39 kills per set, respectively. Junior setter Kelsey Mahoney dishes out a squad-best 6.41 assists per set, while Robinson averages a squad-best 2.97 digs per set. Senior middle blocker Leah Hinkey posts a team-best 1.17 blocks per set.
For all of the latest information on Florida volleyball, log on to www.GatorZone.com/volleyball or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account @GatorZoneVB.
