Because the average height for Florida A&M, Florida Gulf Coast and FIU is 5 feet 11 inches, it’s no surprise that 6-foot-2 Chloe Mann and 6-foot Živa Recek combined for 71 kills at the Campus USA Credit Union Invite last weekend.
However, kills will be harder to come by today as No. 18 Florida (3-0) takes on No. 2 Texas (4-0) at the Nike Big Four Classic in University Park, Pa., at 4:30. The Longhorns’ pin hitters and middle blockers have an average height of almost 6 feet 3 inches.
“This Texas team is going to be one of those teams in the mix to win it all because of their talent,” coach Mary Wise said. “This may be the best blocking team we face all year. They’re big and physical.”
Last season the Longhorns ranked 12th in blocks per set with 2.77.
This season is no different for Texas. So far, they’ve already racked up 21 solo blocks and 56 block assists.
Because of the Longhorns’ height and blocking ability, the Gators will be relying heavily on their serving.
“Because Texas can’t block the serve, it’s our best chance at getting the ball past the net,” Wise said. “Serving, in truth, is going to be a really big part of our team’s ability to score points. We’re very happy with the serving thus far out of Simone (Antwi) and Berkley (Whaley). Now the challenge is to do that on the road in a new gym.”
Last weekend Florida accumulated 25 service aces, 36 percent of which came from Antwi, a redshirt freshman. She also led the Gators in aces during every match last weekend.
“She’s really taken ownership of it,” said Wise after Saturday’s game. “She’s going to make some errors, but when she gets her hand on it, that ball comes from a high contact point and drops. It’s like she’s got a wicked curveball or a slider that goes away from the passers. It could be pretty exciting long term.”
Leading the Gators by four aces is quite an accomplishment for the middle blocker, considering that at this time last year she wasn’t even allowed to serve in practice. Wise thought serving wasn’t a worthwhile use of Antwi’s practice time.
“Me and Dave (Boos) worked on serving during preseason, so we broke it down and did it step-by-step until it came together,” Antwi said. “This weekend, serving (is) important to get them out of their system so they can’t really hit some of those crazy angles that they do.”
Although Wise believes that serving will be Florida’s best opportunity to score points this weekend, there will need to be a significant improvement from last weekend, when they accounted for 26 service errors, 15 of which came against FGCU.
“We’re going to have as difficult a time scoring points and finding a way to get the ball to the floor than just about anybody we play all season,” Wise said. “It’s just a matter of how do we generate enough points against two teams that are going to be in the mix for the national championship come December.
“But what a great opportunity for us early on, to see where we stand and know that these types of matches are only going to help us down the road.”
Contact Katie Agostin at kagostin@alligator.org.
