It’s been a long, tiresome journey.
The Florida volleyball team has logged thousands of miles since the start of the season. It has covered both coasts, traveling as far as the Pacific Northwest to battle No. 1 Nebraska and No. 24 Oregon and north to Brooklyn, New York, to compete in the Blackbird Invitational.
Today, all the late-night flights, bus rides and hotel check-ins will come to an end — at least for the time being — as the No. 7 Gators (7-1) face the Florida A&M Rattlers (2-8) at noon in the Gators’ first home match of the season.
“Being home is definitely something we’ve been looking forward to,” UF middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan said.
But it won’t be in the O’Connell Center.
With the O'Dome's renovations not scheduled to be completed until late December, the Gators will be calling a different gym home — the Lemerand Athletic Center, the team’s practice facility.
And with a maximum capacity of about 700, “The Lem” is miniature compared to the O’Dome. But Alhassan doesn’t expect that to be a disadvantage.
“In here it’s such a close environment that we’re probably not going to hear each other very well,” the junior All-American said. “It’s going to be really loud, very rowdy. And, obviously, we’re gonna feed to that environment.”
The 6-foot-4 Alhassan has excelled so far this season, especially on the defensive end.
Her 27 blocks, including seven against No. 13 FSU on Wednesday, and 1.29 blocks per set rank first and second on the team, respectively.
Her play, coupled with the point scoring of fellow All-Americans Carli Snyder and Alex Holston, is a big reason why the Gators have swept their opponents in five of their seven wins this season.
And that trend figures to continue against Florida A&M, as the Rattlers have lost in straight sets in almost half of their matches.
With one of the worst attacks in the country, the Rattlers average a lowly 11.1 kills per set to the tune of a .158 hitting percentage and will have a difficult time contending with the size and depth of this Florida team.
“The depth has been something that has really helped us,” junior libero Caroline Knop said. “It has made us so much better.
“I’m excited to see what we can do. That’s for sure.”
As for UF coach Mary Wise, she said it will be interesting to see how her team handles the transition of playing at a different home site.
“It’ll be a learning experience for all of us,” Wise said of playing in The Lem. “We probably have no more of an advantage in this facility than the visiting teams.”
With one exception — the crowd.
“If they’re cheerin’, there’ll be an advantage,” Wise said. “We have to give them reason to cheer, though.”
Contact Ray Boone at rboone@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @rboone1994.
UF middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan swings for a kill during Florida's 3-0 win against Texas A&M on Oct. 9, 2015, in the O'Connell Center.
