For Florida’s volleyball team, there’s something about third sets.
The question of exactly why the third frame has been so kind to the Gators in 2011 can garner mixed reactions.
“I’m not really sure why we do it, to be honest,” redshirt freshman libero Taylor Unroe said.
What she’s referring to is a sense of dominance the Gators have carried in three sets for much of this season. In 18 matches, Florida has lost the third set just twice — once in an eventual 3-1 win against Kentucky on Sept. 23 and another two days later in a five-set loss to No. 20 Tennessee.
No. 13 Florida (15-3, 8-1 Southeastern Conference) will try to keep that success going tonight at 8 as it takes on South Carolina (10-9, 1-8 SEC) in an away game that will be televised live on ESPNU.
“No matter how much preparation we do prior to a match — showing the players video and all — there’s nothing like when you’re on the court and you get into a rhythm,” coach Mary Wise said.
Third-set success has been most apparent for Florida in its last three victories, helping to extend the team’s current six-match winning streak.
Against LSU, Ole Miss and Alabama, Florida out-hit its opponents .403 to minus-.073 in the third set. The Gators have won the three sets by a total of 43 points. While the offense has certainly played a role, a large part of the credit goes to the backcourt play of Unroe.
In the past three games, Unroe has recorded 43 digs. She picked up 21 in the three games before that. All six matches were straight-set victories.
“The numbers say it,” Wise said. “What we see in Taylor is execution, but also I think there’s a different mindset.”
After Unroe put an emphasis on raising her dig numbers a couple of weeks ago, Florida’s libero said she is pleased at her latest numbers but tends to be more critical when looking at herself.
“It’s good to see numbers go up, but there’s still a lot more learning and improving I can do,” she said.
Aside from Unroe’s play, Wise and players alike lean toward Florida’s combination of senior leadership and youth as to why third sets seem to be the Gators’ time for easy wins. Wise expects players to make appropriate adjustments during the first two sets of the match.
“Players with high volleyball IQ should be that way,” Wise said. “When you’ve got young players, you’re just hoping they’re in the right position.”
But according to Unroe, the biggest key to third-set success might simply be the Gators’ recent penchant for quick wins.
“We feel like we have nothing to lose since we’re up 2-0,“ she said. “That’s a big comfort zone for us.”
After putting extra emphasis on digging the past two weeks, libero Taylor Unroe has recorded 43 digs in the Gators’ last three games — all UF straight-set wins.
