When Florida takes the court Friday night to begin the NCAA tournament, it will be thrown into a scenario equal parts familiar and different.
In one light, it will be the Gators’ 21st consecutive appearance in college volleyball’s December tradition. However, for just the second time in those 21 years, No. 17 Florida’s players will look around and see strange surroundings.
Replacing the comfortable confines of the O’Connell Center will be the McLeod Center, the 6,750-seat home of the Northern Iowa Panthers.
“We’re ready to show people that we should have been here at home first,” sophomore setter Chanel Brown said. “We do have a little chip on our shoulder that we’re not here (at home).”
For just the second time under Wise, the Gators were not awarded one of the 16 seeds the NCAA tournament offers, meaning both a road setting for the first two rounds and difficult early-round matchups.
In order to make it back to Gainesville for the NCAA Regionals, Florida will have to get past Missouri, which went 21-12 in the tough Big 12 Conference, as well as a probable matchup with No. 12 Northern Iowa.
“Easily one of the toughest opponents we’ve ever had in the first round,” UF coach Mary Wise said of Missouri. “We’ll be in a huge battle just to get out of the first round. One of the toughest matches we’ll play all year will be in the first round of the NCAA tournament.”
Five seniors will be faced with the tall task of making sure their Florida careers don’t end in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
“It’s maybe an advantage,” senior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel said. “Maybe you can get a little bit comfortable when you’re home. Going on the road, you know you have to have that warrior mentality.”
After touting her team’s résumé after the Gators’ regular-season finale, Wise was perplexed Sunday night when the selection committee’s decisions were announced.
Southern California, the nation’s No. 1 team in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll, warranted just a No. 7 seed in the tournament. Florida State, which was swept by Florida on Aug. 30 and has one more loss than UF does this season, was awarded the No. 12 seed. Northern Iowa, which was ranked No. 12 in the final polls, was given the No. 6 seed.
But it was how Southeastern Conference champion Tennessee, the No. 14 seed, got treated that irked Wise the most.
“The committee didn’t give a whole lot of love to the SEC — that was pretty obvious,” Wise said. “There are a couple head-scratchers there, but those are things we’re not going to think about right now. All attention is on Missouri.”
UF coach Mary Wise (above) will square off against former Gator and current LIU-Brooklyn assistant coach Jennifer Robinson when both teams play tonight at 7:30.
