As Ziva Recek goes, so do the Gators — for better or for worse.
Going into the third set of No. 11 Florida’s (13-2, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) match against Kentucky (10-7, 4-3 SEC) on Sunday, the Slovenian freshman had a hitting clip below zero, and her team had dropped the first two sets. But Recek forced her squad into a rhythm with each swing she took, and the Gators crawled back from a 2-0 deficit for their second five-set victory of the year (22-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-8).
Coach Mary Wise said the brains and the work ethic of her 6-foot outside hitter separate her from the typical freshman. Those assets helped Florida win despite falling behind 2-0 for the first time since Nov. 13, 2011, when UF fought back to win a five-set match against Arkansas.
“Ziva obviously carried us through some pretty dark moments in that match,” Wise said. “The thing we’ve been so impressed about Ziva from the get-go: one is obviously her volleyball IQ, but two is how hard she competes. It’s a pretty good combination (for) an 18-year-old.”
Recek’s 54 attacks on Sunday are the most by a Gator in a single match this season. And despite landing only 19 kills while racking up 9 errors for a .185 clip, she gave her team confidence as she kept swinging away, Wise said.
Senior Tangerine Wiggs said Recek never seemed down during the match, even when Florida was in danger of losing its first conference game since Oct. 30, 2011, when UF lost against Kentucky. She added that Recek’s special skills at the outside hitter position make her a key component of a young Gators squad.
“She plays so relaxed,” Wiggs said. “She’s not playing like a freshman at all. She’s a huge part of our team. There are balls that Ziva can get over and go for kills that I don’t know how she does it. I give all the credit to her.”
One of the main reasons Wise said the team leaned so heavily on Recek was because the Gators’ normally efficient passing game was non-existent early on against the Wildcats. The more Florida struggled to get the ball to its setter, Taylor Brauneis, the more it had to rely on Recek to dig the team out of a hole.
“When your team doesn’t pass well, you’re going to rely a whole lot on your outside hitter,” Wise said. “She took more swings than we would have liked, but there were times when Taylor didn’t have many options.”
Brauneis said the team was more confident in its passing after the second set, and because of the improved passing she could deliver more quality balls to Recek, who had a -.053 hitting percentage until the third set. Brauneis said it was the team’s determination to improve, even when down, that brought the Gators back.
“We want to stay focused throughout the whole entire match, whether we were down or up,” she said. “Stay focused, celebrate at the end.”
Outside hitter Ziva Recek attempts to hit the ball over the net in Florida's 3-0 win on Friday in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Recek led UF with 19 kills against the Razorbacks.
