Mary Wise already knew the answer to the question she was about to ask.
After Florida’s 3-0 sweep of Mississippi State on Sunday, a match that was far more competitive than the final score indicated, Wise asked the opposing team’s coach to evaluate her player’s performance.
"She quickly said it was the best match they’ve played all year," Wise said.
And yet, Mississippi State failed to win a set.
The ceiling for this year’s Florida team is high, potentially higher than last year’s second-round exit from the NCAA tournament.
No. 9 Florida (10-3, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) will continue to test itself against SEC rivals Georgia (9-6, 1-2) tonight at 7 and No. 19 Texas A&M (10-4, 2-1) on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Wise knows that opponents play their best against Florida, and that’s what she’s projecting for this weekend.
"That’s what we come to expect," Wise said. "We will get other team’s best performances. It has something to do with playing the Gators."
UF sees it as a huge advantage that the weekly competition it faces feels more like post-season play than a mid-season match.
It allows them to prepare for the NCAA tournament.
It allows little room for complacency; Little room for smugness; And little room for overconfidence.
"I think that’s the nature of the sport," senior Taylor Unroe said. "You’re winning, but its not like you’re playing the same team over and over and over again. You’re playing different people, different coaching staffs, different systems. I think it’s easy for us not to be complacent because we know we have to compete."
Middle blocker Simone Antwi agrees.
"We don’t have time to be complacent," the junior said.
And this season, they haven’t been.
Florida is leading the SEC in hitting percentage (.291) and is second in kills, (13.7/set), service aces (1.4/set) and assists (12.7/set).
UF’s defensive specialists are arguably its biggest strength. They boast a .970 reception percentage, higher than at least five teams ranked in the top-10, including No. 1 Stanford (.953).
Despite Florida’s league-leading statistics and its fast start to conference play, Unroe said the team has managed to find a comfortable balance in its confidence level.
"I think our confidence is an evolving thing," Unroe said. "It’s different every week. We’re not overly confident at any point, and we’re not less confident at any point."
Florida owes its success to its commitment to improve week-after-week, even when it feels as if there isn’t much room for improvement.
"We don’t just win a game and be like ‘oh we won the game, let’s move on,’" Antwi said. "If we won or we lost, what can we take from it? We’re always coming in the gym and working on something."
Florida will look to improve on its five-match winning streak and undefeated SEC record against Georgia.
"We know that we have a tough weekend," Unroe said. "We’re just trying to focus on one game at a time and know that we’re going to get every team’s best shot. We’re expecting them to compete really hard."
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The Florida volleyball team will face Georgia tonight and Texas A&M Sunday
