The No. 11 Gators are atop the Southeastern Conference at the midway point of the regular season partly because the communication on the court has improved from previous years, Betsy Smith said.
The redshirt senior said her conversations before points with fellow middle blocker Chloe Mann have helped Florida (13-2, 7-0 SEC), which faces Ole Miss (8-8, 2-5 SEC) on Friday at 7 p.m. in the O'Connell Center.
"This is one of the better years because the middle group has been through the program for the longest amount of time," Smith said. "There just has to be a lot of communication. Make sure everyone is clicking on the same cylinders so we can defend the best we can."
Coach Mary Wise said she depends on both Smith and Mann to point out the opponent's strategies just before the ball is put in play.
"They're reminding the young players, who need reminding, just who's in the front row, what rotation they're in, what are the tendencies in this rotation and what we're going to do defensively," Wise said. "It's actually kind of going through page by page of the scouting report, just in a real condensed form."
Because Florida has five freshman outside hitters and a transfer setter, Smith said effective communication has never been more important than it is now. Back when All-Americans Kristy Jaeckel and Kelly Murphy were on the outside, communication was not as critical.
"Jaeckel was a great blocker on that pin, so we didn't have to remind her; she knew what she was doing," Smith said. "But these times, it's just the constant reminder."
Throughout a match, Mann will point out a specific player on the other side of the net to help her teammates remember what to expect. Mann said there has been confusion in previous years with the younger players, which is why communication is critical to Florida's success.
"We work really hard in it every day in our gym, making sure that we're talking to each other," Mann said. "That makes sure that no player gets kind of fallen behind. Whether you're a freshman or a senior, everyone's on the same page."
Senior middle blocker Betsy Smith attempts to spike the ball over the net during Florida's 3-0 victory against Missouri on Sept. 21 at the O'Connell Center. Her leadership has helped the young Gators communicate on the court.
