On Thursday, Redshirt senior middle blocker Chloe Mann had her number retired by her alma mater, Eastside High.
On Friday, Mann added a strong performance and a win to an already successful week.
The Gators (6-1) walked away with a three-set sweep of Georgetown (25-14, 25-14, 25-10) behind the play of the Gainesville native, who had 11 kills on a hitting percentage of .588.
“I definitely credit our team in general,” Mann said. “Just how hard we work coming off of this past weekend in Texas, and I think we will come back in the gym and work Monday through Thursday and stay really focused.”
There would be no Friday the 13th curse for Florida as it rode Mann. The most impressive part of her performance was how many of her kills seemed to come with ease.
Florida not only dominated Georgetown on the stat sheet but also seemed to confuse the Hoyas, who committed six service errors and had multiple miscommunications on plays.
“We just made sure that we stayed aggressive,” Mann said. “I think that was our focus, and just making sure we kept putting pressure on them and from there it made it easier for us to gain points.”
The Gators capitalized on the mistakes of the Hoyas by going on multiple scoring streaks. At one point during the first set, the Gators were able to rattle off an eight-point streak.
In almost every match this season, it has been the stars for Florida that led the way. Besides Mann, senior setter Taylor Brauneis had a team-high 30 assists.
Brauneis entered today ranked 44th in the nation in assists per game at 10.88 but could be even higher if she hadn’t been rested at the end of some of Florida’s larger wins.
She also was able to outduel her sister, freshman setter Caitlin Brauneis, who had 13 assists but also a hitting percentage of -.499.
“Well, [Taylor Brauneis has] got some pretty good arms to set and she’s had some really good ball-handlers to give her the ball,” coach Mary Wise said. “You know what you’re going to get from Taylor each night. She’s a steady performer.”
The Gators will play again Saturday in the Active Ankle Challenge with games at noon against Iona and 7:30 p.m. against Western Michigan.
Follow RJ Schaffer on Twitter @rjschaffer.
Chloe Mann (10) spikes the ball over Missouri’s Whitney Little (8) during UF’s 3-0 win on Sept. 21, 2012, in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
