Carli Snyder is a freshman, but she doesn’t play like one.
And she certainly doesn’t talk like one.
Snyder refused to give in to No. 3 Texas on Saturday night, even after losing to No. 8 Florida State just 48 hours earlier, and even after being thrust into the starting lineup for the first time in her career.
"Give us more," Snyder said. "Give us more top-10 teams. I would have this any day, we would have this any day over rolling over someone."
No. 11 Florida (3-2) fell 3-1 to Texas (4-1) Saturday night, but the final score hardly mattered to coach Mary Wise and the Gators.
This is what Florida wants — to play the best there is, and to provide an atmosphere to develop its five freshmen.
"It’s what we scheduled, and we are a better team from this," Wise said. "But you got to be careful what you wish for. … There’s going to be a learning curve, and right now we’re growing."
Texas ran out to an early 20-12 lead in the first set, largely due to its blocking ability.
The Longhorns have nine players listed at or taller than 6-foot-2, compared to just three for Florida.
"(Texas’) height definitely had an effect on how we played because you have to play so much higher above the net," Snyder said. "They’re big girls."
Florida dropped the first set 25-16 but bounced back in the second largely due to the play of Snyder.
The freshman set a career-high with 18 kills and led UF to a 28-26 second set victory.
"Early on in the first set, (Snyder) was struggling. She hasn’t seen the size of those blockers very often," Wise said. "But (she) made an adjustment and she made the changes she needed to. Her ability to swing to get kills in different spots, to hit high balls against one of the best blocking teams in the country, it was pretty impressive."
The match was tied at one, but it was the last time the Gators would score.
Texas captured the third set 25-17, followed by a 25-16 victory in the fourth to seal the win.
The battle at the blocker position was the deciding factor. Texas’ Sara Hattis, listed at 6-foot-4, and Haley Eckerman, 6-foot-3, rendered UF’s middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan ineffective for a majority of the match. Alhassan finished the night with seven kills and three blocks.
Instead, redshirt junior Noami Santos-Lamb made a large impact, finishing with a career-high 14 kills.
"It’s really good to play teams with that physical type of blocking early in the season to see what you need to work on," Santos-Lamb said. "It’s awesome to have Khat Bell up there and Sara Hattis up there to really see how much I need to work on."
Florida will continue play against its slate of top-20 opponents when it faces No. 15 San Diego and No. 6 USC next week.
"It’s tough but its exciting. I mean, we don’t get this until the tournament. And this is the best preparation we can get," Snyder said. "This is what we want — tough competition."
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Freshman outside hitter Carli Snyder attempts a kill during Florida's 3-0 win against Idaho in the O'Connell Center.
