(VB) Ongoing Volleyball Thread

At least Kentucky lost, moral victory.

 

Good to see Mary working the portal...

Honestly, the fact that the former Razorback has experience playing in the SEC is more exciting than all SEC freshman team accolades. She's been through the paces of road games, as well as home games. Looking forward to her helping this team continue to improve overall!

Go Gators!!

 

I just watched the 4th #1 seed, Penn State, make it to the Final 4. Creighton took them to a 5th set, but Penn State dominated that one and moved on. 2 Big 10 teams and 2 ACC teams. Louisville/Pitt in one semifinal, Nebraska/Penn State in the other. Those will be fun to watch. High quality volleyball right there.
Just FYI - Stanford has 9 women's volleyball titles, Penn State has 7, Nebraska has 5, Texas has 4, UCLA has 4, Southern Cal, Long Beach St. & Hawaii have 3 each, Pacific has 2, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Washington have 1 each. 12 teams have won all the national titles and only 1 from the SEC.

 

I was impressed with the blocking and the service skills that Creighton brought to their last two matches against Texas and Penn State.

 

Florida Volleyball Signs Devin Dzienny to 2025 Roster - Florida Gators

 

Sure glad we signed a DS, was worried our DS roster would dip below 40% of the team roster. No extra setters, no outsides,a mash unit at key positions other than DS but let's make sure we have 6 Littles on the roster at all times.

 

think mary would gladley take your resume for assistant coach

 

I believe we have another little coming in Lily Hayes, she is committed but no official announcement yet. DS Gaby Cornier has entered the transfer portal.

 

dude did you not see we got a OH from Arky?

 

Dude...based on how the season ended that OH from Arky puts us one OH short of playing a game. But by all means continue signing defensive players and no depth at the pins where it's needed the most. Having 6 DS players is a luxury that in my opinion should be done after you have atleast 4 viable pin hitters.

 

Here is a link to the 1st, 2nd & 3rd team all american team. Former Gator Bre Kelley made 2nd team.
2024 AVCA Division I WVB All-America Teams | AVCA Awards

 

Guess who?

 

Jac can afford it!
Now we need them to have about 8 kids who all love UF.

 

One of the commentators for the South Carolina match said the Gamecocks were problematic and gave Florida fits by how they matched up against the Gators. They had a trio of players who combined for a lot of kills that we should've block while maintaining a high hitting percentage. Their back line defense covered the court well and had more digs than us. AC Fitzpatrick was out with an injury in our final two regular season matches, and impacted the level of our play. Our timing and rhythm were out-of-synch (in her first game back vs NC State, we played much better). We missed her jump serve. Kennedy Martin vs South Carolina played a little flat, maybe due to exhaustion and overcompensating for AC's absence. As for Stucky, she wasn't supposed to be available until mid-season. After such a serious injury and literally no training for nearly a year, Stucky's timing, fitness and confidence have been improving throughout the season. Wise was strategic with Stucky's progress, not to overplay her, while giving her more playing time as her fitness improved and her confidence grew. A commentator for one of our matches said at this stage in her rehab and recovery, the biggest challenge for Stucky was mental. Her fear of reinjury is why she's playing tentatively. Against Kansas, Stucky played probably her best match all season and was key to our victory.

 

Dont we have Harden and Hutson also who were injured or young this season.

 

Madi Gravlee, 6'4" OH, too.

My concern is health for Hutson and Gravlee as both have been injured for the most of 2 seasons. Think we need another transfer besides the Arkansas 6'2" OH transfer, 6'3" would be fine.

 

Spot on!
The pillars of this team return and the additions are helpful. We will be able to challenge for a championship when our injured recover and recover they will!

 

Anyone who knows and will comment on these 3 players, please do:

Gabby Essix 6'3" MB - Coming back and will be ready to play the 2025 season?

Kira Hutson 6'3" OH - Coming back and will be ready to play in the 2025 season?

Madi Gravlee 6'4" OH - Coming back and will be ready to play in the 2025 season?

This isn't rocket science so the answers should be easy for someone to comment on without violating player or team information. It is public information that all 3 were injured and didn't play in 2025. Kira and Madi didn't play the most of the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

UF has never had casual fans in any sport, well maybe soccer. It would be a tip of the cap to the fans to report on what to expect in the 2025 season from these players. If it is none of the fan's business, just say so.

 

My understanding is that Gabby has graduated and using her last year elsewhere. With the good lord willing, Kira and Madi will be playing next year.
We are in good shape with Florida Victorious. Yes, we are blessed.
Mary is the GOAT and this team is gonna be fun to watch.
More good news to follow.