Betsy Smith works hard — very hard.
And there has been nothing but good results for the efforts of No. 13 Florida’s junior middle blocker, who has played a bigger role on the court in 2011 than in the past.
“She’s a special person and player,” Wise said. “We knew it was going to take time and she just never quit mentally or emotionally.”
This year has featured a significant increase in playing time for Smith, who sat behind All-Southeastern Conference First Team selection Lauren Bledsoe and the conference’s reigning blocking leader, Cassandra Anderson.
Now she sees the court more often, and it is paying dividends for the Gators.
“Betsy may not be the best jumper in the league, or the fastest player, or the tallest middle in the league, but there are very few who have a higher volleyball IQ,” coach Mary Wise said. “I’d put her work ethic up against anybody.”
Smith has started 12 matches for Florida this season, posting a .407 hitting percentage, the second-best mark on the team.
Also, she is out-blocking Anderson and currently ranks third in the SEC with 1.13 blocks per set.
Her increased role and her consistent numbers are a result of a productive summer, Wise said.
“There are players that work hard in front of the coaches, but Betsy’s a player who works very hard when the coaches aren’t even around,” Wise said.
Florida’s sweep against Georgia had extra meaning for Smith, who was able to play in front of her sister, a freshman student at UGA, and family less than two hours away from her hometown of Atlanta.
In her two previous trips to Athens, Ga., Smith only appeared in two sets, but she played all three Sunday.
“I thought back on the times [Smith’s family has come] in the past — now in her fourth year in the program — where if she got in (against Georgia), it was very limited play,” Wise said.
“Sometimes, she didn’t play at all. Although I didn’t have an opportunity to talk to her family, I talked to her high school coaches and they were pretty excited.”
Smith took advantage of the extra time on the court, hitting an errorless .700 for the match, recording a block, four block assists and seven kills.
Arguably Smith’s biggest play of the match came on the final play when she recorded a kill off a set by sophomore setter Chanel Brown to clinch the third and decisive frame.
“The rally [Sunday] to end the match took a while and I think the story of that match continues to be Betsy Smith,” Wise said. “It was perfect that she would have the swing at match-point to win it.”
Jaeckel receives SEC honor: Redshirt senior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week after her efforts in back-to-back 3-0 sweeps of Auburn and Georgia last weekend.
In those two matches, Jaeckel recorded a .455 hitting percentage, 29 kills and 11 block assists.
