During Saturday’s home match against Duke, winning points became almost too easy for the ninth-ranked Gators women’s volleyball team.
With Florida leading 8-3 in the second set, the Gators prematurely met at center court to congratulate each other on the point. After noticing that Duke had recouped on the play, the team recovered and eventually senior middle-back Chloe Mann got the kill.
It was that kind of weekend in Gainesville after the Gators beat the Blue Devils in three straight sets (25-16, 25-17, 25-18) en route to winning the Campus USA Credit Union Invite.
“The last three games was a full-team effort,” senior setter Taylor Brauneis said. “When it comes down to it, we need everyone out there to play to the best and to give 100% effort and we did that.”
Mann led the way for the Gators after registering 15 kills on a .652 hitting percentage, good enough to take home MVP honors for the tournament.
One of the most surprising aspects from Saturday was the play of freshman Alex Holston. The right-side hitter was instrumental for the Gators, setting a record for highest killing percentage on an opening weekend for a freshman in program history at .436.
“Alex has the potential to be a great point scorer, not just offensively but in terms of her blocking, as well,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “She just plays with poise beyond her years and I think it’s not easy to start as a freshman, but all she did was rewrite the record book for a freshman.”
Sophomore outside-hitter Ziva Recek finished second on the team with 10 kills for the afternoon. Coach Wise was pleased with the play of starters like Recek and feels that this weekend was a good barometer for where her team is at.
“Often times, you learn more when your team struggles,” Wise said. “Last night, we struggled by showing some impatience offensively. Today, we showed great patience – the fact that we only hit two balls out of bounds on 94 swings.
Florida’s next match is against University of Texas–San Antonio on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Follow RJ Schaffer on Twitter @rjschaffer.
Junior setter Taylor Brauneis (8) celebrates with her teammates during Florida’s 3-0 win against Arkansas on Oct. 5 at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
