Florida is just five games into its season and has already faced top-tier teams like No. 7 Nebraska, No. 11 Iowa State and No. 15 Colorado State.
And the season is about to get a little harder for the No. 4 Gators (5-0).
Gainesville will be the center of attention — for reasons other than religious demonstrations and football — this weekend when No. 1 Penn State (6-0), No. 2 Stanford (5-0) and No. 5 Texas (5-1) come play in the Nike Volleyball Big Four Classic.
“All eyes in the volleyball world are on Gainesville,” coach Mary Wise said. “Obviously each weekend that we play is a big deal to our players. The difference is that they hear it from relatives, friends and former high school club coaches and teammates. Everyone in the country who knows college volleyball knows about this tournament.”
One thing that will not be hard for the Gators is finding extra incentive in knocking off yet another ranked opponent this early in the season.
When the Gators take on the Nittany Lions inside the O’Connell Center tonight at 7:30, they will face a squad that is the three-time defending NCAA champion and has won 108 straight matches.
The 99th match in that streak came last year against Florida in the NCAA Tournament. Penn State won 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-21), ending the Gators’ season.
“There’s always that competitive part of any athlete that’s going to want to get the team back that took them out of the whole thing,” senior Lauren Bledsoe said.
Stanford booted the Gators from the 2008 postseason while Texas did the same in 2007. “That’s some of it, but then the rest of it is just wanting to get out there and win like always,” Bledsoe said.
The winner of today’s match between the Gators and the Nittany Lions will take on the Stanford-Texas winner, with the losers of both games playing each other as well.
Florida will play Saturday at 4:30 p.m. regardless of today’s outcome.
The Gators, who received a first-place vote in the rankings this week, will face their hardest test so far this season when they take on the Nittany Lions for the seventh time under Wise (3-3).
“Asking 18- to 22-year-olds to be perfect is kind of a stretch, but volleyball is a game based on mistakes,” Wise said. “There isn’t a whole lot of room because there are not a lot of weaknesses on these teams.”
