No. 6 Seed Volleyball Opens NCAA Tournament Friday in Lawrence
The Gators are set to face ACC contender NC State at 5 p.m. inside the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.
Match Notes<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/12/4/1st_Round_Match_Notes_vs._NC_State.pdf> | 2024 NCAA Bracket<https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/volleyball-women/d1/2024> | About Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena<https://kuathletics.com/facilities/horejsi-family-volleyball-arena/371> | Buy tickets here<https://kuathletics.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventList?groupCode=VB23&linkID=kansas&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode=>
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida volleyball team begins their post-season run on Friday, Dec. 6 with a neutral-site matchup against NC State at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence, Kansas. The First-round match is slated for 5 p.m. ET and will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Leif Lisec (play-by-play) and Jill Dorsey-Hall (color analyst) on the call.
The Gators, who are the No. 6 seed in the lower left region of the bracket and the No. 22 ranked team in the nation, will take part in the first match of the night. The host-team Kansas, who is the No. 3 seed in the lower left region of the bracket and the No. 12 ranked team in the nation, and Colgate will follow at 7:30 p.m. ET. The winner of the two first-round matches will meet in the second round at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Weekend Schedule (Times are listed in Eastern)
First Round | Friday, Dec. 6 | Location: Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena | Lawrence, KS
5 p.m. | No. 6/22 Florida vs. NC State | Watch: ESPN+<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/723f54fb-6a4c-4a6a-b24e-32694a346305> | Live stats: StatsBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=560166&vislive=fla> | Follow:@GatorsVB<https://x.com/GatorsVB>
7:30 p.m. | No. 3/12 Kansas vs. Colgate | Watch: ESPN+<https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/7253b4a2-059b-4d66-8256-744baaf3ffc9> | Live Stats: StatsBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=560165>
On NC State: Record: 16-12 overall | 11-9 ACC | RPI: 35
* Series history
* Florida leads series: 7-1(4-0 under Mary Wise)
* 3-set: 4-0 | 4-set: 2-0 | 5-set: 1-1
* Home: 3-0 | Away: 3-1 | Neutral: 1-0
* Last Time Out: Sept. 2, 2017 | San Juan, PR | Florida wins, 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-22)
* NCAA Tournament Series
* Friday’s matchup marks the first time the two programs will face each other in the NCAA Tournament.
* Wolfpack Notables:
* Making fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, first since 2017.
* Took down No. 10 SMU in last regular season matchup to earn an 35 RPI
* Scouting the Lawrence Field
* Florida’s NCAA Tournament Notables
Scouting the Rest of the Field:
No. 3/12 Kansas: 24-4 overall | 15-3 Big 12 | RPI: 10
* Series history
* Florida leads series: 1-1 (1-0 under Mary Wise)
* 3-set: 1-1 | 4-set: 0-0 | 5-set: 0-0
* Home: 0-1 | Away: 0-0 | Neutral: 1-0
* Last Time Out: Sept. 96 1997 | Evanston, IL | Florida wins, 3-0
* NCAA Tournament Series
* Have yet to face each other in the NCAA Tournament.
* Notable:
* Making fourth-straight NCAA tournament. The Jayhawks have five ranked wins this season and eight wins over teams that made the 2024 bracket
Colgate: 19-10 overall | 14-2 Patriot League | RPI: 87
* Series history
* The two programs have yet to compete
* Notable:
* Captured its fourth-consecutive Patriot League Conference Title to earn automatic bid
Florida’s NCAA Tournament Notables:
* 6TH SEEDED GATORS
* The Florida volleyball team earned the sixth seed of the lower left region of the bracket
* The Gators are on the road for the First & Second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2020. Florida earned a first-round bye before traveling to Omaha, Nebraska, where the program made the Regional Final before falling to Wisconsin in five.
* Since 1987, the program has not hosted the First & Second Rounds five times: Omaha, NE (2020), Orlando, FL (2018), Cedar Falls, IA (2011), Tallahassee, FL (2004), Stetson, FL (1996)
* FLORIDA VS. THE FIELD
* The Gators are 7-5 against the NCAA Tournament field this season
* Florida has regular season wins against Colorado State, Florida State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Missouri
* Florida has recorded regular-season losses to Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Texas, and South Carolina (2)
* Against the field, Florida is hitting .257 and is averaging 12.98 kills per set
* The Gators are also averaging 12.27 assists per set, 2.02 blocks per set and 1.56 against the competition in the field
* FLORIDA’S NCAA HISTORY
* This is Florida’s 34th-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament – making the field every year under Mary Wise
* This is the third-longest active streak in the nation behind Penn State – 44 and Nebraska – 43
* Overall, UF has been in the NCAA Tournament 35 times since the program’s inception in 1984
* Florida has made 29 Regional Semifinals and 17 Regional Championship appearances in program history
* UF is seeking its ninth all-time NCAA Semifinals appearance, looking to make it back for the first time since 2017
* Florida head coach Mary Wise boasts an 81-33 (.711) record all-time in the NCAA Tournament, with all of her postseason appearances coming with the Gators
* Her 81 NCAA Tournament wins put her sixth in Division I history
* The Gators carry an 82-34 (.717) all-time record in the NCAA Tournament
* Florida is 61-8 at home, 4-8 Away and 16-17 in neutral matches during NCAA Tournament play
* SEC IN THE NCAA
* Nine SEC teams earned bid to the NCAA Tournament. The SEC joined the ACC and the Big Ten to lead all conferences with nine teams each to be selected to compete in the championship tournament. Kentucky, the SEC champion, earned the conference’s automatic bid to the tournament, while Florida, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Texas A&M joined the 64-team field with their at-large bids to the NCAA Championship.
2024 NCAA volleyball tournament schedule
* Selection show: 6 p.m. ET Sunday, Dec. 1 on ESPN
* First and second rounds: Thursday, Dec. 5 through Saturday, Dec. 7
* Regionals: Thursday, Dec. 12 through Sunday, Dec. 15
* Semifinals: Begin at 6:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Dec. 19 on ESPN
* National championship: 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Dec. 22 on ABC
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