When Florida dropped the fourth and final set to Illinois in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, Mary Wise began one of the most difficult offseasons she has ever had in her 21 years as a head coach.
Five seniors graduated, leaving Wise with a gaping hole in the roster and only one experienced setter in Chanel Brown.
That was until Brown transferred to Arizona a few weeks later because of the Wildcats’ emphasis on the setter with their 5-1 system.
Although replacing a senior class that featured All-Americans Kelly Murphy and Kristy Jaeckel would not be a quick fix, Wise was sent some good news in January 2012 when setter Taylor Brauneis announced her transfer from Louisville to Florida.
Ironically, the Gators switched to the 5-1 system that Brown left to pursue because of Brauneis’ experience with the scheme at Louisville.
After Brauneis helped Florida to a Southeastern Conference Championship and Sweet 16 appearance with her 1,247 assists last season, Wise said it was unusual to have a transfer immediately make such a difference on the court.
“Our experience has been with transfers is that usually it’s not until their second year that they’re really able to make a true impact on a program,” Wise said.
“But Taylor Brauneis threw that out the window with how quickly she adapted a year ago.”
In her junior campaign, Brauneis led the SEC and finished in the top ten in the country by averaging 11.65 assists per set.
Wise said the breakout performance by SEC Player of the Year Chloe Mann was in part due to Brauneis feeding her passes.
“There’s a reason why Chloe . . . led the entire country in hitting efficiency a year ago,” Wise said. “It’s like having a quarterback and a wide receiver get on the same page from day one. They are in sync.”
When Brauneis first arrived in Gainesville, Wise said she was not the most physically gifted setter in the country.
Now in her second year in the program, Brauneis said she hopes to morph last year’s Sweet 16 team into a national champion.
“Every single time I’m in the gym, I’m trying to make people better — that’s my job as a setter,” she said. “Having that ‘Final Four mentality’ is big, just knowing that we can get there and coming in and working hard every day.”
She added that Brauneis’ high volleyball IQ and ability to learn on the fly helped make Florida a contender in 2012.
“Like any player, what we like to do is see that learning curve continue, and she had a great spring and summer,” Wise said.
“Now she has to try and take advantage of it in her last fall.”
Follow Jonathan Czupryn on Twitter @jczupryn.
Taylor Brauneis reaches for the ball during a 3-0 victory against Missouri on Sept. 21 in the O’Connell Center.
