Volleyball Preview: No. 5 Florida
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MATCH #12
No. 18 Texas (11-0, 4-0 Big 12)
at No. 5 Florida (10-1, 2-0 SEC)
When: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 at 6 p.m. Central
Where: Gainesville, Fla. (Stephen C. O'Connell Center)
All-Time Series Record: Florida leads, 10-3 (5-1 in Gainesville, 4-2 in Austin, 1-0 neutral)
Series Streaks: Florida has won the last five meetings
Last Meeting: Sept. 24, 2001: Florida def. UT, 3-0 (30-23, 30-13, 30-17)
Last UT victory: Dec. 8, 1995: UT def. UF, 3-2 (9-15, 15-7, 15-8, 10-15, 15-13) in NCAA Elite Eight)
Last Florida victory: See last meeting
Elliott vs. Florida: 1-1
Television: Aired live on Fox Sports Digital Atlantic (Time Warner Cable Digital channel 431) and on the Sunshine Network
QUICK SETS
Texas climbed in the national rankings to No. 18 this week, after entering at No. 22 last week in the USA Today/CSTV Top 25 Coaches Poll.
Texas is one of six remaining undefeated teams in the nation, joining Washington, Ohio State, UC Santa Barbara, Hawaii and Penn State.
Texas will face its second SEC opponent of the season when it travels to Florida, as the Horns defeated LSU, 3-0 (30-22, 30-24, 30-21) on Sept. 10 in Austin.
The Longhorns are 11-0 to open a season for the first time since 1990 when the Horns opened 26-0.
Texas earned a victory in its first match against a ranked opponent of the season - at No. 21 Kansas - on Saturday evening. The win snapped the Jayhawks' three-match winning streak against UT.
Mira Topic became the career leader in aces at Texas last Wednesday night and now has 166 on her career. She is tied with Lisa Denker at the top of the Horns' all-time list.
UT has limited it opponents to a hitting percentage under .250 in each of its 11 matches, including five matches where the team has held its opponents below .100.
UT won 10 of its 11 matches by 3-0 scores, and has won 33 games to its opponents' two in 2004.
Texas has limited opponents to 19 or fewer points in 18 games this season ... UT managed the feat in only eight games in 2003.
Texas has hit for an attack percentage of .350 or higher in eight of 10 matches this season, including four matches of .420 or higher.
Senior Bethany Howden recorded her 1500th career kill last week against Iowa State. She is just the third UT player to reach that milestone, joining UT career kills leader Dee Sance (2,013) and teammate Mira Topic (1,706).
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
No. 5 Florida is 10-1 overall and 2-0 in the SEC ... the Gators' lone loss was to No. 5 Minnesota, 3-2 ... Florida was the 2003 national runner-up in the NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 36-2; the team's only two losses were to national champion USC ... Jane Collymore leads the Gators in kills with 205 (5.12/game), Michelle Chatman is the team's leader in attack percentage (.360) and Sherri Williams is the team's leader in blocks (63.0) ... Florida is hitting .260 as a team.
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FLORIDA QUICK FACTS Location: Gainesville, Fla. Nickname: Gators Colors: Orange and Blue Head Coach: Mary Wise (Purdue '81) 2003 Record: 36-2 2003 SEC Record (Finish): 16-0 (First Overall and in the East; Tournament Champions) NCAA Postseason: NCAA Runner-up |
