Coming into the season, Rhamat Alhassan was a big question mark for Florida volleyball.
Her age and inexperience in the sport made her height her only real threat to people that hadn’t seen her play.
Then she played her first match and the college volleyball world knew Florida had a new weapon — one that could potentially make up for the loss of former Gator Chloe Mann.
Alhassan finished Florida’s season opener against Georgia Southern with six kills on eight attempts and five total blocks — an outstanding performance for a freshman that only had two years experience on the court, but two and a half months into the season and those stats would be a modest night for Alhassan, who now averages 2.75 kills per set.
"She has the combination … the athletic talent, the ability to learn and the drive, it’s the combination of those three that makes Rhamat the player she is today and the player she is in the future," coach Mary Wise said.
The 6-foot-4 freshman has gone above and beyond what many Florida fans expected of her.
So far, she boasts five player of the week honors and is second in the NCAA with a .466 hitting percentage.
In her time with the team, Alhassan has had to learn the ins-and-outs of college volleyball. One way she’s learned it is from the help of her teammates. Junior Simone Antwi, who played alongside Chloe Mann, has aided Alhassan in her adjustment to collegiate play.
"I’ve embraced the role of helping her out because if I check out and she doesn’t know what she’s doing then it’s a thing… She’s helped me more than she knows," Antwi said on Oct. 8.
Growth is imminent.
Alhassan was bound to grow when she entered that volleyball training arena at the Gale Lemerand Center in the middle of July, but it’s leaps and bounds ahead of what most coaching staff expect of freshmen.
In Alhassan’s first appearance with the team at Florida’s season-opening media day, she was timid and giggled before answering questions. She was shy and uncomfortable and not at all sure of how to respond to interviewers questions.
Today, she interviews the way she plays. She’s strong and dominant and, while she still giggles, she’s confident, and who could blame her?
For the first time in conference play, Alhassan will be faced with blocking one of the best offensive teams in the Southeastern Conference. Her growth in blocking will be key for Florida to shut down an Alabama offense that has second and third-ranked outside and opposite side hitters.
"This is going to be a really, good fun match against Alabama and we’re glad we have all week to prepare for them," Wise said.
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Freshman middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan swings at a ball during Florida's 3-0 win against Missouri
