When it comes to defense, Madison Monserez keeps digging and digging.
Coach Mary Wise compared her sophomore defensive specialist to the Energizer Bunny after she led No. 15 Florida (26-4, 19-1 Southeastern Conference) with 16 digs en route to a three-set sweep against Tulsa (26-10, 14-2 Conference USA) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (25-9, 25-21, 25-21) on Friday night in the O’Connell Center.
“Maddy has always given us great effort, but what has improved is her execution,” Wise said. “She’s really been the consummate stabilizer for us – only a stabilizer who plays like the Energizer Bunny.”
For only the second time this season, Monserez led Florida in digs as Taylor Unroe usually is the go-to defensive player in the back row as the libero.
Unroe has led the Gators in digs 24 times, but she fell three digs shy of Monserez against Tulsa.
Monserez, who is playing in her second NCAA Tournament in as many years, said the defense has always been a part of the game that has energized both the Gators and the home crowd.
“I think just front-court and back-court blocking and digging brings the energy in general so when we get a big block or big dig, that’s what generates our energy,” Monserez said. “I was happy I guess I could provide that to the team tonight.”
The Gators’ defense, anchored by Monserez, held Tulsa and NCAA all-time point scorer Tyler Henderson to a -.250 hitting percentage in the first set, which was the lowest set clip of any UF opponent this year.
Henderson swung seven times in the first set, but she couldn’t land a kill and instead registered four errors.
“In set one, we kind of got out of the gate pretty fast and we knew that the numbers of Tyler were not indicative of her talent,” Wise said. “We felt like we might have blocked really well and just had every break go our way in set one.”
But as Henderson inevitably heated up on the court, so did Florida’s offense.
Tangerine Wiggs was a perfect six-for-six in kill opportunities in the first two sets and added two more kills in the third set to bring her hitting clip to .667.
The senior right-side hitter attributed her success to the passing of the back-row players and the setting of junior Taylor Brauneis, whose 37 assists totaled more than the entire Tulsa squad.
“Taylor Brauneis is a setter we’re so blessed to have on our team,” Wiggs said. “She does such a great job distributing the ball and making sure that each person gets the best looks possible.”
Wise improves to 17-0 all time at Florida in the first round of the tournament. The Gators advance to face the College of Charleston on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Sophomore Madison Monserez (11) attempts a pass during UF’s 3-0 win against FIU on Aug. 24, 2012, in the O’Connell Center.
