The old saying goes “defense wins championships.”
The Florida volleyball team is trying to prove that statement correct this season.
The No. 1 Gators (20-1, 13-0 Southeastern Conference) have won 15 straight matches. Playing arguably the nation’s toughest schedule, they’ve been relying on their defense — specifically blocking.
“Blocking at any level is huge,” coach Mary Wise said. “If you look at statistics — whether that’s international volleyball or collegiate women’s volleyball — and look at the top teams in the nation in blocking, they often have winning records and really good records because blocking can make up for mistakes.”
The Gators lead the SEC in blocks with 2.65 per set. The team is second in opponent hitting percentage (.164), just behind LSU (.162).
“A team may not be able to side out on a first swing attempt — meaning pass, set, kill a ball — but if you can block in transition it covers for mistakes,” Wise said. “We talk about blocking sometimes isn’t just a one-point block but it creates another point. If you block a player and then she tries to hit a different shot the next time, that can go to a hitting error.”
Last week the Gators dominated blocking in their matches, out-blocking opponents 18 to three.
Against South Carolina on Oct. 27, Florida had nine total blocks while the Gamecocks had only two. Against Ole Miss, the Gators had nine while the Rebels recorded just one.
“Blocking’s really important because the defense behind us plays behind the block,” junior middle blocker Cassandra Anderson said. “So if we don’t put up a good block it’s harder for our defense to play. Even if as a middle blocker we don’t go for a block, it’s good for us to jump in the air so they can have a path to read off of.”
Anderson had a match-high six blocks against South Carolina and added three more against Ole Miss. She anchored a defense that limited the conference foes to hitting percentages of .057 and .067, respectively.
Anderson’s play earned her SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors. This is the second time she has been given the accolade, as she picked it up in 2008 as a freshman.
“I think that it’s pretty cool,” Anderson said. “I thought we played really well last week and it’s really nice to just be playing well and to be named that.”
Anderson is third in the SEC with 1.15 blocks per set. However, her 1.21 blocks per set in SEC matches ranks first.
Anderson says first-year assistant coach Dave Boos has helped the team’s defense greatly.
“He has a new scheme that we’ve learned since last spring,” Anderson said. “We’ve learned new techniques that I’ve never even learned before.”
Anderson isn’t alone on the blocking front. Senior middle blocker Lauren Bledsoe is ninth in the SEC with 1.04 blocks per set.
“We take a lot of pride in our defense because without defense there’s no offense,” Anderson said. “Without defense our whole game will just fall apart.”
