Our depth this year is impressive. Mary seems to be rotating lots of different players in and out and it's hard to see any dropoff when she does. That said, the three players that really stand out to me and that I want always on the floor are Stuckey, Martin, and McKissic. They're at another level altogether.
I like Anna Dixon at that level too. Her flexibility to play OH and MB is outstanding. Her natural position is OH so she is giving of herself to make UF a whole team talented and deep.
The match was hard for a 0-8 team to get up for. In the first set, we took care of business without much problem. In the second set, we got distracted and let them score more than they should. In the 3rd set, we did just enough. The service errors went from 14 to 8 from yesterday. We are trying to score an ace on every serve. That is not necessary. Just get the ball over the net. There have not been any adjustments on serves. If you are hitting it long on serves-move farther back. This is a coaching problem for me. We will not beat Wisconsin playing like this. Of course, we are 7-0. I hope we play like we have against other Top 10 teams next Sunday.
I saw Mary today on the sidewalk between the Lemerand and Heavener with what looked like a recruit and her family. I have no idea who it was, she wasn't a libero. Anyone have any idea on who we are currently recruiting?
With all the success the volleyball program has seen under Coach Wise-and it has been quite impressive and remarkable despite not winning that elusive natty-we should be averaging 2-3x more fans for home matches. Even though we consistently rank in the top 10 nationally (last year we were 9th with a 3,138 average), we should be drawing in bigger crowds, especially for the big matches. UF's success has not only elevated the quality of volleyball programs in the SEC, but also on high school girls' volleyball locally. Since 2002, Gainesville High (3 times), Buchholz, PK Young, Oak Hall and most recently Santa Fe (2 times each) have won state volleyball titles, and are consistently ranked in the Top 10 in their perspective classifications each year. This weekend we are hosting the top-ranked team in the country. #3 vs #1! If we beat the 'holes on Tuesday, we'd have a shot at Numero Uno when the next poll is released. It will also help our RPI ranking for seeding. The Final Four is in Tampa. How amazing would it be if Coach Wise wins her 1st natty in front of a crowd where we outnumber Nebraska fans! Wait, what was my point? Ok, so Wise has built and cultivated the culture of winning, Gator Nation has a high volleyball IQ, and locally there's a great passion for the sport that's multi-generational. There's no reason why we can't fill more seats. Athletic Association needs to put more energy and $$ promoting the Wisconsin match, and in promoting volleyball period. A sold-out O'Dome this weekend of rowdy reptiles in front of a national audience would make a giant statement, and a good way to impress recruits and for others to question their decision for transfering <eye wink>....
Trap game tomorrow. I hope the upperclasswomen have clued the freshwomen in. FSU is not a bad side and they will be at home.
Sold out?! That's awesome and it's the kind of event that can result in a sea change in support for the program, and create a ton of new converts to volleyball. Now we just need to take care of business vs. FSU and then knock off the #1 Badgers.
Volleyball is a lot different than most other sports at the pre-college levels. Unlike football, basketball, baseball, track and field, etc., volleyball for girls is developed in clubs much more than in high schools. The club system has tremendous numbers of teams, and competition is fierce. My daughter played club volleyball. Practices were intense. And then the teams would participate mostly in tournaments ranging from maybe 8 teams to hundreds of teams. At the big tournaments, you'd see amazing volleyball and lots of college coaches. We went to a big one in Atlanta, with dozens of games going on simultaneously. Mary Wise was there scouting, so I said "Hi, Coach," to her in passing. She beamed that infectious smile of hers. Hard not to like her. Volleyball is also different in that you'll see a lot of really small private schools that are high school powerhouses. That's because club play is EXPENSIVE and families without financial means simply don't have children on club teams. The private school parents have money and their kids are all in clubs, which is, again, where the real player development occurs.
Trust me …those parents that don’t have money will still play club ball. They just won’t pay what the 3 and 4 teams are paying. I’ve had several players get sponsored by other parents. Food, travel, airfare for the best players that don’t have the means will usually never pay much if at all.
9/11/2023 AVCA Volleyball Rankings: DI Women's Volleyball Rankings - AVCA Rankings | NCAA.com 1. Wisconsin 2. Louisville 3. Florida 4. Nebraska 5. Stanford
Gators@FSU 6pm ACC Network. Nebraska@Stanford 9pm ESPN. Volleyball, popcorn and a few beers on my menu tonight!
And Spectrum and Disney have kissed and made up, so it’s actually on TV; a beautiful thing. Looking forward to it.
Ticketmaster is listing the Wisconsin game as sold out. Place should be rocking. Looking forward to Sunday. edit…missed the same post above. Facepalm
