Chanel Brown is the only active true freshman on a roster with nine upperclassmen, but you wouldn’t believe it watching her play.
Through seven matches, Brown’s skills as a setter and server have played a vital role in vaulting the Gators (6-1) from No. 13 in the preseason poll to their current ranking of No. 3, the team’s highest since 2005.
“One of the reasons for our early season success is the play of Chanel Brown,” coach Mary Wise said.
“One could argue ‘How hard is it to throw a ball up to Kelly Murphy?’ But there are so many things we ask of Chanel.”
Brown has proven to be capable of everything the Gators have thrown at her so far, as she leads the team with a .491 assist percentage and a .955 serve percentage while also chipping in 27 digs.
All this comes in Brown’s first season as a setter. She played outside hitter at Chandler (Ariz.) Valley Christian High before switching in her final club season — just a few months before she joined the Gators.
Despite facing that challenge while being a first-year starter, Brown says that the transition is “going great” and that playing in the season’s opening matches has helped her prepare for Southeastern Conference play.
“Being able to go out there those first two weekends and play such big competition and play these top-five teams in the country has been a huge learning experience for me,” Brown said. “Coming in and playing for the Gators, I’m so blessed to be a part of it.”
And Florida is blessed to have her, as Brown’s ability to step in from day one has allowed the team to implement a 6-2 formation that utilizes the versatility of junior Kelly Murphy.
Typically, the Gators play Murphy at front-row attacker when Brown is setting from the back and at back-row setter when Tangerine Wiggs substitutes for Brown in the front.
To this point in the season, the two rotations have proven to be equally effective, as the team wins 53 percent of its points when Brown is setting and 52 percent of its points when Murphy coordinates the attack.
While those numbers appear to indicate that Brown and Murphy are equals, only Brown has the luxury of setting to Murphy, who leads the team with 76 kills.
“Being able to set such great hitters has been a huge experience for me,” Brown said. “They’re all such amazing athletes and just great people on and off the court.”
Murphy’s presence has provided Brown with much more than just a target for her sets, as the junior has played a major role in helping the freshman learn how to set in the Gators offense.
“Kelly Murphy has taught me so much and really taken me under her wing,” Brown said. “I’ve learned a lot from her.”
Brown has learned the position and the offense at an impressive rate. Her seven college matches are really more like three-and-a-half since she only plays in 50 percent of the rotations.
Despite this disadvantage, the freshman has been able to learn everything the coaching staff has asked of her and then some.
“If she were playing in a true 5-1 she would be getting twice as many reps and maybe the learning curve would go even faster,” Wise said. “But she plays in three rotations and to be a point-scoring server is not something that we would’ve asked of her this early on in her career.It’s a bonus.”
Brown’s accurate jump-float serve has her second on the team with nine aces, and its effectiveness was never more clear than in Saturday’s match against Texas.
With the score tied at 14 in the fifth set, Brown came on and dropped not one but two aces in front of the Texas serve receive, propelling Florida to victory.
Considering how far Brown has come in such a short time, it is no wonder that the coaching staff has such high expectations for her going forward.
“We see a real high top end with her,” Wise said. “It’s going to be fun for the next four years.”
