She never minded wearing a mask. She did it for four years.
Each time she took the floor at the Lemerand Center, she imitated each aspect of the next opponent’s offense.
Tennessee. Kentucky. Texas. Stanford. Penn State.
For the sake of Florida’s success, Sundai Weston played whatever role she was told to play in practice from 2009 to 2012 in order for her team to succeed come game time.
But the former Gators setter is just that. A former setter.
So as No. 5 Florida (5-1) prepared all week for tonight’s matchup against Georgetown (4-4) at 7, coach Mary Wise relied on the current backup setters, Dana Backlund and Mackenzie Dagostino, to prepare the Gators during practice.
Despite just two years of combined collegiate experience between Backlund and Dagostino, Wise said she feels comfortable with those two taking Weston’s former role while also having starting senior setter Taylor Brauneis help scout as well.
“The beauty of having three setters in the program (is) we have some more flexibility,” she said. “The depth of our team allows us to have any combination of six (players) on a court that will make us better.”
With right-handers Backlund and Brauneis along with left-hander Dagostino, the Gators can cover all the bases when mimicking an opponent’s playing style the week before a match.
Redshirt senior Chloe Mann said having a chance to see what a team will play like before actually facing it in a match was vital to Florida’s success the past four years with Weston.
But she said she has confidence in this year’s scouting team to learn from experience and continue to help prepare the rest of the squad.
“Sundai was definitely instrumental all four years of her being here in terms of just being able to completely mimic the other team,” Mann said.
“We definitely are missing it, but there are other players that have stepped up, and we all do a role to kind of help each other get better when we’re scouting.”
It’s not like the Gators lost a Kelly Murphy-type player who would be a point scorer every set of every match.
Weston played in 85 sets in her four years at UF. Six of the 11 returning Gators played more sets just last year than Weston did in her entire career.
However, sophomore Simone Antwi said that the situational practices that Weston helped with last year and that Backlund and Dagostino are helping with this year are a major part of the Gators’ success when they perform during matches.
“Putting yourself in scenarios like that kind of helps you for game time,” Wise said. “I’ll refer back to a situation like, ‘Oh, I’m at practice and I’m serving against this and this person.’ I just feel like it helps me a lot, like relax me for the game.”
With Florida never having faced Georgetown or Iona in program history and having only played Western Michigan once — in 1999 –— the Gators’ week-long preparation for this weekend’s Active Ankle Challenge was especially important, Wise said.
“Most of their players, our players will see for the very first time,” she said.
“The offenses that they run (and) their defenses, we are learning it through video, through gameplan and the adjustments that we make on the court.”
Follow Jonathan Czupryn on Twitter @jczupryn.
Sophomore setter Dana Backlund serves the ball during Florida’s 3-0 win against Jacksonville on Sept. 7, 2012, in the O’Connell Center.
Former UF setter Sundai Weston hits the ball during Florida’s 3-0 win against Florida A&M on Aug. 25, 2012, in the O’Connell Center.
