There have been few things Chloe Mann has not accomplished in her career.
The middle blocker is the current all-time NCAA leader in hitting percentage, has won two Southeastern Conference titles and is a reigning 2012 AVCA First-Team All-American.
Setter Taylor Brauneis also has impressive accomplishments under her belt since she transferred from Louisville after her sophomore year.
She was named AVCA Honorable Mention All-American last year and led the SEC with 11.65 assists per set. Brauneis is currently 14th in the nation with 11.45 assists per set and is second on the team in service aces.
As No. 7 Florida (25-3, 14-2 SEC) prepares to take on LSU (16-10, 6-8 SEC) tonight at 7, it will be the last time Mann and fellow senior Brauneis play in the O’Connell Center in the regular season in their historic careers.
“It’s been a long, exciting, wild, crazy ride,” Mann said. “It’s definitely rewarding to know that all of this accumulation of everything I’ve worked so hard for since I first started playing volleyball is coming to fruition tomorrow night.”
Gators fans are not just getting to see the end of potentially Mann’s most successful season but also the end of arguably one of the most dominant careers in program history.
Mann has found a way to take her game to an even higher level this season.
She currently leads the NCAA with a hitting percentage of .508. She is hitting .100 better than Alex Holston, the next closest teammate.
“There are times as a coach that you wish you had a pause button on their careers,” coach Mary Wise said.
“Ask any coach in the country if you lost the all-time career hitting efficiency leader ever in the sport of women’s volleyball; that’s hard to replace, and she’s left her mark on this program.”
Wise said any list containing the most successful athletes to come out of the Gainesville would have to include Mann.
She added that the program lucked out when Brauneis decided to transfer from Lousiville to Florida in 2012, and that she enjoyed success so quickly, despite a short transition time.
But Brauneis and Mann still have one goal left in their college careers: Bring a national title to Gainesville.
“You know, you’re not going to win them all,” Brauneis said.
“I think if we come out in the postseason and just play like the confident team we know we can then I think we’re going to be fine.”
Follow RJ Schaffer on Twitter @rjschaffer.
Chloe Mann (10) attempts to block the ball during Florida’s three-set victory against Alabama on Sunday in the O’Connell Center. Mann is hitting .500 this season.
