Thanks to Ziva Recek, the Gators have to make more room on their mantel.
The Southeastern Conference named Recek its Freshman of the Week for the third time this year and the second straight week on Monday after her career weekend against Georgia and Tennessee.
Florida’s leader in kills tallied 38 in the past two matches to bring her total on the season to 317. Recek, who is one of only three Gators to play in each of the team’s 81 sets, has averaged 3.91 kills per set. That mark is the fourth-highest average in the SEC.
Most of her production last weekend came in the Gators’ loss to the Volunteers on Sunday, when she recorded a career-high 26 kills and 20 digs.
Coach Mary Wise said she hasn’t seen a performance like Recek’s in a while.
"We haven’t had a player record 26 kills since 2005," Wise said. "Ziva has been more than solid for us all season. Great players have that ability to go to another gear."
Recek became the first UF player to record at least 26 kills in a match since Jane Collymore had 30 on Sept. 10, 2005. She also was the first Gator to have at least 20 kills and 20 digs in a single match since Kisya Killingsworth registered 23 kills and 20 digs against South Carolina on Sept. 17, 2006.
Recek’s record-setting weekend puts her in the same conversation as former Gators great and All-American Kelly Murphy.
Recek has three SEC Freshman of the Week awards as well as an SEC Offensive Player of the Week award, which mirrors Murphy’s accomplishments during her freshman year in 2008. Murphy went on to win SEC Freshman of the Year and was the consensus National Freshman of the Year.
Before Recek, the 6-foot outside hitter, earned her latest award, Murphy and former All-American Elyse Cusack were the only Gators to have accumulated four conference honors in one season.
As a team, Florida has racked up six weekly honors so far this season. Two weeks ago, Chloe Mann was the SEC Offensive Player of the Week and Taylor Unroe was the conference’s Defensive Player of the Week.
The Gators have already eclipsed last year’s squad, which earned just four weekly awards.
The last time Florida had an offensive player, defensive player and freshman of the week was 2010.
Wise said she credits the play of the veterans that lead the team through the day-to-day grind.
"What we do is rely on the leadership of the older players," Wise said. "They want to get back in the gym right away."
Behind the leadership of Betsy Smith and Tangerine Wiggs, the Gators have racked up six weekly awards and the top spot in the SEC standings.
Wise said Florida is close to where it wants to be at this point in the year.
"Our goal every year is to be playing our best volleyball at the end of the season," she said. "I think we have a chance to do that."
