In a perfect world, freshmen would be good enough to start as soon as they enter college.
But this is not a perfect world.
On Friday, No. 8 Florida (12-3, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) debuted an unfamiliar face from its roster against unranked Georgia (9-7, 1-3 SEC).
Freshman defensive specialist Sam Dubiel received her opportunity to see some time on the court over the weekend – the first of the freshman defensive specialists to experience game time.
Dubiel started her career after subbing in during the second set against Georgia. She played the back row with seniors Maddy Monserez and Holly Pole, but did not record any digs, blocks or serves.
But on Sunday, she had the opportunity to make a difference in the game, playing in her second set of her second match of the season against then-No.19 Texas A&M (11-5, 3-2 SEC).
"Sam, a freshman who had not gotten playing time," coach Mary Wise said. "… She had strained an abdominal muscle which didn’t allow her to serve at all and so she’s fine-tuning her serve in terms of maybe less speed on it but real high accuracy."
The defensive specialist subbed in for the final three plays in the first set and showed off her biggest asset: her float serve.
All season, Wise has said Dubiel’s float serve is one of the best on the team – if not the best she has ever seen.
"She’s just getting better and better at practice," Wise said. "We think as the season goes on, there’s going to be a role for her. In January she’s going to be one of three (defensive specialists). Those three that return, they gotta be ready come January to take over, and they will be. But we really like the future of Sam."
The freshman’s lack of playing time worked in favor for Florida on Sunday. Had Dubiel played or served in matches prior to Friday’s matchup against Georgia, A&M would have been able to scout her serve and find a way to defend against it.
While she only made three plays on three serves, she became the Gators’ biggest weapon at the end of the first set against the Aggies, taking the serve for set-point in a 25-12 set win.
"From a player standpoint, to be an aggressive server you’re going to make some service errors, so there’s a risk-reward," Wise said. "… The beauty of the player like Sam’s serve or Maddy’s, the players that can serve the float serve it’s a different look. You know we have the spin servers -- they can bring some heat -- and to be able to combine that with the float serves then teams have to prepare for both."
While Wise said Dubiel and fellow freshman defensive specialist Lindsey Rogers will be taking on a larger role in the spring, it’s hard to deny the athleticism in Dubiel.
As a senior she recorded 607 digs and received 563 serves playing as the libero for the 3A state champion team.
Follow Eden Otero on Twitter @Edenotero_l
Sam Dubiel serves the ball during Florida's 3-0 win against Texas A&M on Saturday in the O'Connell Center.
