Florida Volleyball welcomes the Longhorns to Gainesville for their first top-10 matchup of the season.
Match Notes<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/10/3/Vs._Texas.pdf> | $2 Tickets<https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/Floridavolleyball2> | Watch<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/bff9ad39-47c1-45e6-af0b-33b3cc4a5054> | Listen<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5492> | Follow<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=538166> | Parking Map<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/9/30/2024_VB_Parking_Map.pdf>
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 18 Florida volleyball team will face their first top-10 opponent of the season on Sunday, welcoming newest SEC member and 7th-ranked Texas inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
First serve is slated for 1 p.m. on ESPN, with Sam Gore and Missy Whittemore on the call. The Conference matchup can be heard on the airways of ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM/850 AM with Tom Collett and Nick Cheronis on the call. Additionally, those not in attendance can follow @GatorsVB on socials for match updates or via live stats.
Scouting Report
The Gators welcome the back-to-back national champions to Exactech Arena for the two programs 26th meeting. Florida leads the overall record, 15-10 (15-9 under Wise), but Texas has the most recent win from 2018. The two teams played in Lincoln, NE on Aug. 25, 2018, where the Gators fell in five sets.
Texas comes to Florida with a five-match win streak and a 3-0 Conference record.
Series Information
* Series Record 15-10 (15-9 under Wise)
* 3-set: 3-4; 4-set: 4-3; 5-set: 8-3
* Home: 7-4; Away: 6-4; Neutral: 2-2
* Last time out: 2018 | N | L, 2-3 (18-25, 25-21, 25-21, 21-25, 10-15)
Things to Know:
* Volleyball Parking: Download Parking Map<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/9/30/2024_VB_Parking_Map.pdf>
* Stephen C. O’Connell Center Address: 250 Gale Lemerand Drive Gainesville, FL 32611. Use this address, or type in O’Connell Center into your GPS system.
* General Parking is available in the main O’Connell Center lot and garage on a first-come, first-serve basis. Parking is also available on Fraternity Row, or at the Fredric G. Levin College of Law. DO NOT PARK on or in city streets or neighborhoods.
* Disabled parking is available on a first-come, first-serve basis in the O’Connell Center lot with a valid Disabled Placard.
* Free ‘Pack the Dome’ T-shirts for Fans in the Lower Seating Bowl
* Orange & Blue shakers will also be placed on each of the seats in the lower arena bowl.
* Florida Volleyball posters and schedule magnets can be picked up on the rack in the Gate 1 lobby while supplies last.
* The first 500 UF students will received a free Crumbl Cookie<https://crumblcookies.com/> as they enter Gate 3.
* Enter-to-Win Prizes
* All fans will be eligible to win 2 lower level tickets to the sold-out Sabrina Carpenter concert<https://www.amaliearena.com/events/detail/sabrina-2024> on October 25th at Amelie Arena in Tampa.
* One lucky fan will take home 4 tickets to Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens Tampa<https://buschgardens.com/tampa/events/howl-o-scream/>.
* All UF Students in attendance will be eligible to win the new Apple AirPods Max<https://www.apple.com/airpods-max/>, a Yeti cooler full of Pepsi products, and a Gatorade x Kristin Juszczyk Bottle Capsule<https://www.gatorade.com/drops/kristin-juszczyk-bottle-capsule> Limited Edition Drop
* Arrive Early & Gate Entry Info
* Due to the expected capacity crowd, fans are encouraged to arrive early on Sunday.
* All O’Connell Center entry gates will be open at Noon.
* UF Students should enter via Gate 3, and fill in sections 17, 19, and 21 first.
* Lower sections 01, 03, 05, 07, 09, 11, 13 & 15 are reserved seating, and require a reserved ticket.
* General admissions seating is available in sections 23, 25, 27 & 29 as well as in all the middle and upper level sections.
Match Notes Preview
* HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
* Florida currently ranks No. 1 in the SEC and No. 7 in the nation for average attendance (3,480). Since 2016, the Gators have led the Conference in attendance, while finishing in the nation’s top-10. On Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023, 10,323 fans in the stands of the Stephen C. O’Connell Center set the O’Dome attendance record as well as became the highest-attended match hosted by an SEC school all-time. Additionally, it marked the highest attendance for an on-campus volleyball match in the state of Florida. The Gators were ranked No. 7 in the nation and No. 1 in the conference for attendance. The Gators hold a 574-83 (.874) record at home since the inception of the program in 1984.
* IMMEDIATE IMPACT
* Five of Florida’s fresh faces – Jaela Auguste, Erin Engel, Taylor Parks, Isabel Martin and Alec Rothe – have taken no time to adjust to their new environment. Through 12 matches, the three freshman and two transfers have contributed 51.40% kills, 70.76% assists, 37.38% aces, 28.09% digs, 65.22% block solos, 60.12% block assists, 61.24% total blocks and 50.85% points to Florida’s average stat line.
* GATORACE
* Florida’s 16 aces against Alabama State on Sept. 12 ties for second nationally for team aces in a three-set match. The Gators are currently averaging 2.18 aces per set as a team, which ranks first in the SEC and 6th in the nation. Elli McKissock and Taylor Parks are both individually ranked in the Conference, with parks fourth (0.47) and McKissock seventh (.41)
* ATTACK EFFICIENCY
* Through 12 matches in 2024, the Gators sit at a .310 clip in kill percentage, good for the highest total in the SEC and fourth-highest total in the NCAA. Florida has hit above .300 seven times this season and recorded their highest hitting percentage of .456 against Alabama State on Sept. 12. Additionally, the Gators have totaled five or less attack errors to five or less in 38 of their 49 sets played so far.
FOLLOW FLORIDA VOLLEYBALL
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Twitter<https://twitter.com/GatorsVB>
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Coach <http://www.twitter.com/GatorMary> Mary Wise<http://www.floridagators.com/coaches.aspx?rc=25> on Twitter | Coach <http://instagram.com/gatormary> Mary Wise<http://www.floridagators.com/coaches.aspx?rc=25> on Instagram
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