Despite the Gators’ perfect 3-0 record to begin the season, coach Mary Wise said the team still has a laundry list of imperfections that must be corrected before the Big Four Classic starts Saturday.
The season began without a hitch as No. 8 Florida breezed past New Orleans by hitting an even .500 through three sets while holding the Privateers to a -.018 clip, which was the lowest percentage by a UF opponent since Mississippi State hit -.141 on Oct. 26.
However, once Florida faced off against LIU-Brooklyn, a team that rode a 19-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament last year, the Gators returned to earth.
In four sets of work, Wise’s squad committed 12 service errors and 18 attack errors that helped the Blackbirds avoid the sweep and take the third set from the Gators.
“They played inspired (and) we got a little tentative,” Wise said Friday following the match. “Now that we’ve won, we can say it was good for us.”
Noami Santos-Lamb said the team still has to build a rhythm that only experience can bring.
“We have newcomers in, we have people who are getting used to being back and getting in pace,” the sophomore outside hitter said. “So it’s more about getting to a pace than improving in any set skill.”
Florida’s final opportunity to work on its chemistry on the court before heading off to Texas on Wednesday was the Campus USA Invitational finale against Duke on Saturday.
Madison Monserez thought the match against the Blue Devils was important for the team to prove that it can recover after struggling the night before.
The junior defensive specialist said the Gators’ defense, which gave up 14 kills to the Blackbirds in the third set Friday, was a prime example of how much a team can grow within 24 hours of a tough match.
“The first two games, I think we were trying to find our rhythm with digging the deeper balls,” she said. “And then when we addressed it, we made an adjustment. We’re not always going to play the same types of teams. This was a great lesson in regards to adapting and learning how to adjust our game.”
The benefit of facing NCAA- Tournament caliber teams early in the season is that it provides Florida with reference material as it prepares for the likes of No. 2 Penn State and No. 3 Stanford, Wise said.
Last year after sweeping three non-tournament squads in the Campus USA Invitational, UF dropped both its matches in the Big Four Classic the following week.
“Often times you learn more when your team struggles,” Wise said.
Follow Jonathan Czupryn on Twitter @jczupryn.
Sophomore outside hitter Noami Santos-Lamb (17) squats to bump the ball during Florida’s 3-0 victory against New Orleans on Friday in the O’Connell Center. Florida won all three of its weekend matches.
