There would be no “Hoosiers” reprise, no Miracle on Hardwood.
Florida had its season come to a close Friday night, but there really isn’t anything the Gators could have done.
Top-ranked and two-time defending national champion Penn State was better in every single category, and it’s no wonder the Nittany Lions have a NCAA-record 99 match winning streak, which they extended with a sweep of the Gators on Friday night.
“If you didn’t have to play against them, you had to sit back and admire how talented they are -- the ‘wow’ factor of how high they play above the net,” said Florida coach Mary Wise, who wrapped up her 19th season in Gainesville. “We’ve played some great teams in the O’Connell Center. This is the best team to ever play in the O’Connell Center.
“You can understand why everyone has thought that this is the team that could do it: what’s never been done – win three national championships in a row.”
It really wasn’t even fair to consider an upset a possibility for Florida. PSU has lost only five sets all season and was pushed to the distance only once, at then-No. 11 Michigan on Oct. 16.
The Gators’ kill leader was Kristy Jaeckel with nine. The Nittany Lions had four players at least match that figure.
“They were getting some swings that we’d go for the dig, but they were just great swings that you couldn’t reach,” sophomore outside hitter Colleen Ward said.
Penn State was better than Florida at every position, with libero a possible stalemate. Florida senior libero Elyse Cusack did everything she could, just as she has for her entire four-year starting career, but a libero can only affect a match so match.
“You can practice it all you want during the week, but you’re not quite used to the height that they play or the speed that they play,” said Cusack, who wraps up her college career as the all-time Southeastern Conference leader in digs.
The problem was if a pickup volleyball match was to be played using UF and PSU players, the first three picks would be Nittany Lions – and after Cusack and Kelly Murphy were selected from UF, the rest of the squads be filled out with Nittany Lions as well.
“We don’t have that player who in a broken play can just jump up and hit (a winner),” Wise said.
PSU has three that will make a big play when the team needs it the most.
Senior outside hitter Megan Hodge, a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year, led her team with 20 kills and dialed one up whenever UF began to stage a rally.
Junior opposite hitter Blair Brown, a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten choice, had 11 kills on 25 attacks and chipped in 13 digs.
Senior setter Alisha Glass, also a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection, had 45 assists and seemed to never make a bad choice in which amazing hitter she set.
“You’ve gotta have two things to win a national championship,” said Wise, who has not won a national title, although she has made seven Final Four appearances. “You’ve gotta have a Player of the Year-type candidate -- they’ve got two of those [Hodge and Glass] and tonight Brown was pretty good too – and they’ve been injury free.”
Florida did all it could Friday night, and it shouldn’t feel bad that it wasn’t enough. After all, 98 straight PSU opponents have felt the same way.
