The Gators travel to Atlanta, GA for a top-15 matchup against Georgia Tech on Wednesday and will face Alabama State on Thursday.
Match Notes<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/9/10/Georgia_Tech_Match_Notes.pdf>
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 13 Florida volleyball team will face their first ranked opponent of the season, as they travel to Atlanta, GA for two midweek matchups. The Gators go head-to-head with No. 15 Georgia Tech on Wednesday inside McCamish Pavilion and will turn around to play Alabama State on Thursday inside O’Keefe Gym.
Wednesday’s match against the Yellow Jackets will begin at 7 p.m. on ESPN2<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/7a2919fd-b3ad-43c3-ad5e-1a577e787572> with Holly McPeak and Anne Marie Anderson as Talent. There will be no livestream for Thursday’s match, but fans are able to follow along via livestats.<https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=geot>
The Gators look to redeem their 2023 season-ending loss to Georgia Tech after falling 2-3 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. UF faces Alabama State for the first time since their 2019 matchup in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Match Notes Preview:
Previously from Florida Volleyball…
The Gators hit the road following a three match Florida Invitational. Florida fell in five sets to USF despite starting with a 2-1 lead. However, Florida bounced back to defeat Southern Indiana and Ohio State in four and three sets, respectively.
Attack Efficiency
Through six matches in 2024, the Gators sit at a .300 clip in kill percentage, good for the 10th highest total in the NCAA. Florida has hit under .290 in only one match so far which resulted in their only loss. Against Michigan State, Florida had an attack percentage of .361, their highest total since hitting .367 against Ole Miss 14 matches ago on Oct. 13, 2023. Florida has limited the attack errors having five or less in 18 of their 23 sets played so far.
Gators and the AVCA/TARAFLEX Polls
After moving to 5-1 in the 2024 season, the Florida volleyball team sits No. 13 in the AVCA/TARAFLEX Division I WVB Poll. After a wild week of NCAA volleyball, two teams who were previously unranked entered the top-25 and 11 teams dropped from Sept. 2 rankings. Florida remains in the top-15 following their 2-1 finish this past weekend in the Florida Invitational. The Gators only loss came from USF, who received votes in this week’s poll.
Of their remaining 22 matches, Florida is set to face 10 opponents that are either ranked or receiving votes in the current polls, including two matches against top-ten opponents in back-to-back matchups.
Immediate Impact
Four of Florida’s fresh faces – Jaela Auguste, Taylor Parks, Isabel Martin and Alec Rothe – have taken no time to adjust to their new environment. Through six matches, the three freshman and redshirt transfer contributed 59.62% kills, 87.24% assists, 46.34% aces, 32.57% digs, 68.75% block solos, 60.98% block assists, 63.16% total blocks and 58.78% points to Florida’s average stat line. Additionally, graduate transfer Erin Engel dropped three aces in her Gator debut against Ohio State on Sept. 8. In her very first serve in the Orange and Blue, the Maryland transfer recorded an ace.
Scouting Report:
No. 13 Florida at No. 15 Georgia Tech
Wednesday, Sept. 11 | 7 p.m. ET
McCamish Pavilion | Atlanta, GA
#13 Florida 5-1 | #15 Georgia Tech 4-1
ESPN2<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/7a2919fd-b3ad-43c3-ad5e-1a577e787572> | Live Stats<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=538360&vislive=fla>
No. 13 Florida vs. Alabama State
Thursday, Sept. 12 | 3:30 p.m. ET
O’Keefe | Atlanta, GA
#10 Florida 5-1 | Alabama State 3-3
Live Stats<https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=geot>
Series Information
Georgia Tech
* Series Record 1-1 (1-1 under Wise)
* 3-set: 0-0; 4-set: 1-0; 5-set: 0-1
* Home: 1-1; Away: 0-0; Neutral: 0-0
* Last time out: 2023 | L 2-3 | H | 25-22, 28-30, 21-25, 25-18, 14-16
Alabama State
* Series record 4-0 (4-0 under Wise)
* 3-set: 4-0, 4-set: 0-0; 5-set: 0-0
* Home: 4-0; Away: 0-0; Neutral: 0-0
* Last time out: 2019 |W, 3-0 | H | 25-10, 25-16, 25-20
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