Florida arrived in Omaha, Neb., to open the season ranked the 13th best team in the country.
The Gators (2-0) can expect their ranking to rise after battling to a seesaw 3-2 (25-22, 25-22, 29-31, 13-25, 15-12) victory over No. 2 Nebraska (1-1) in the Runza/American Volleyball Coaches Association Showcase.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of this group,” UF coach Mary Wise said. “The weaknesses we have we can make up for in how hard we will prepare and how hard we will play. Not many teams have come into this state and beaten the Huskers.”
In front of 5,978 fans, the Gators found themselves against a crowd heavily favoring Nebraska. During the match, “Go big red” could be heard throughout the arena.
“You can’t buy this experience,” Wise said. “They’re very volleyball knowledgeable. What they do so well is energize the Nebraska players.”
After taking the first two sets, the Gators entered the third set with all the momentum.
But after failing to win four match points in the third set, Nebraska took the momentum and ran with it.
The Cornhuskers won the tight third set and dominated the fourth frame. That momentum continued into the deciding set as Nebraska jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
It looked as though the script had been flipped on the Gators.
But as junior Kelly Murphy tied her career-high with 20 kills to go along with 23 assists and 10 digs for her 16th-career triple-double, the Gators battled back and put the finishing touches on a perfect weekend that started Saturday with a win over No. 9 Iowa State.
“Kelly was nothing short of a first-team All-American today,” Wise said. “Everybody in the arena knew she was getting the ball and she still delivered. Kelly was fantastic but she had all the pieces around her playing their hearts out.”
Murphy was named to the AVCA Showcase All-Tournament Team along with seniors Lauren Bledsoe and Callie Rivers.
Bledsoe recorded six kills and seven blocks Sunday as Rivers added 12 kills, three service aces and seven digs.
Also performing big on Sunday was freshman Chanel Brown. She dished out a career-high 31 assists in her second appearance for Florida.
Brown served five consecutive points in the fifth set to retake the lead from the Cornhuskers and put the Gators in a position to win.
“We felt like to beat Nebraska we would have to match the intensity level of not only the six players on the court, but also of the Husker fans,” Wise said. “This team really did a great job of that today.”
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
