Florida spring matches

[GatorVball]

Did anyone go watch them play today? I was unable to make it, but did see the Gatorzone writeup that they won all 7 games against Georgia Tech. Doesn't seem like some people played from the writeup. I know Amber is out with her shoulder surgery, but there was no mention of Marcie, Angie or Kari. Sounds like Janine Williams played very well, same for Alli Cecchini. I'm very encouraged by reports that Kisya is likely to be back in the middle this year.

www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=11760&html=volleyball/news/20070303055400.html&sport=vollb

[Thrill of the 'ville]

Marcie didn't dress, she was sick.
Angie played well but didn't get padded stats because they were trying to use everyone.
Kari is medical redshirting and was not at there.

[GatorVball]

Killingsworth, Hampton Guide UF In Spring Matches
Saturday March 24, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla.

Rising senior outside hitter Marcie Hampton (Gainesville, Fla.) led the University of Florida to a trio of victories in the morning session with 18 kills, six digs and four aces, while rising senior Kisya Killingsworth (Deltona, Fla.) paced the Gators in the afternoon with 21 kills, four digs, four aces and three blocks in spring volleyball action on Saturday at the Lemerand Center.



In the opening session, the Gators defeated UCF 1-0 (30-21), Tampa 2-0 (30-21, 17-15) and the College of Charleston 1-0 (30-18). In the afternoon, Florida opened with a 2-0 victory against Tampa (30-22, 15-13) before splitting with UCF 1-1 (30-27, 13-15) and wrapping up action with a 2-0 win against the College of Charleston (30-28, 15-11).



“Today was all about giving Alli Cecchini the opportunity to run a 5-1 and we saw some really good things out of that position,” Florida coach Mary Wise said. “It also allowed us to move Kisya Killingsworth back to the middle and for Janine Williams to get a lot of reps on the left side. In the spring, if you get better and you don’t get hurt, then you’re doing great and that’s what happened for us today.”



For the day, Hampton led the Gators with 36 kills, while adding 13 digs, five aces and three solo blocks. Killingsworth added 34 kills, four aces and five total blocks, while freshman outside hitter Janine Williams (Gainesville, Fla.) recorded 28 kills, 17 digs, seven aces and five total blocks. Rising sophomore libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.) led the Gators with 22 digs.



Rising sophomore Alli Cecchini (Brentwood, Calif.) fared well in setting the Gators, while collecting eight digs, three aces and three kills. Rising junior middle blocker Kelsey Bowers (Gainesville, Fla.) added 22 kills and three blocks and rising junior defensive specialist Christina Diaz (Hollywood, Fla.) chipped in with 16 digs and three aces.



UF started strong with a 30-21 win against UCF in the opening contest. The Gators never trailed and Hampton led UF with six kills and a pair of aces in the game. Florida squared off against the defending NCAA Division II national champions in Tampa in the second match and Florida cruised to a 30-21 in the opening game with Killingsworth and Williams each finishing with four kills. The second game was tight with Florida rallying from a late 14-12 deficit to claim a 17-15 victory. UF closed out the morning with a 30-18 win against the College of Charleston with Hampton providing the bulk of the offense with eight kills and Williams closing out the match with three straight aces.



In the afternoon, the Gators began play by beating Tampa 30-22 in the opening game behind five kills from Hampton and Williams. The second frame was again close with Tampa moving in front 10-6 before the Gators scored nine of the final 12 points to earn a 15-13 victory behind five kills from Williams. Florida fought off a late UCF rally to post a 30-27 win in the opening game as Killingsworth totaled seven kills and Hampton added six. UCF came from behind to steal the second game as the Gators led 13-11, but couldn’t close things out before falling 15-13. Florida ended the day with a 30-28, 15-11 win against the College of Charleston. Killingsworth guided the Gators in the opening game with six kills before Bowers and Killingsworth each tallied a pair of kills in the second game.



The Gators will return to action in the spring next weekend when Florida travels to Minneapolis to face Minnesota, Washington State and Notre Dame in a tournament hosted by the Gophers on March 31.

[sexy]

hampton is really scary when she is feeling it!! in volleyball terms that is!!

[sexy]

but i miss jane!!

[FloridaPerson]

Is the Borg redshirting the 07 season, or is this retroactive for last season?

23 for setter this fall.

[Alberta]

I didn't attend any of the spring home matches, but a friend did.

Kari Klinkenborg was not present at either match OR listed on the roster.

Not sure what that means....

[ohiovalley]

Talked to a club coach in Denver who is a big Gator fan. He said the pressure is really on this Florida team to get it done. If UF does not get back to the Final Four this season - it won't happen for quite a while. The loaded senior class will have to "pony-up" this coming fall.

[roy]

ohiovalley said:

Talked to a club coach in Denver who is a big Gator fan. He said the pressure is really on this Florida team to get it done. If UF does not get back to the Final Four this season - it won't happen for quite a while. The loaded senior class will have to "pony-up" this coming fall.

I could see that happening. Its really strange because the last time Florida was in the Final Four was in 2003. It doesn't seem that long ago, but an entire class has almost completed their 4 years. They have some great talent coming in, but it will take a couple of years to get that talent ready to challenge for the Final Four.

The bad news for Florida is that they won't host a regional. Nebraska probably will and that's not a section of the bracket anyone wants to end up in. Stanford and Penn State are looming somewhere and it is possible they may host (or have someone close to them hosting). However, that leaves one section of the bracket open. It could be similar to 2005 when Texas A&M hosted and it really became a nuetral site for all. Or it could end up like Washington in 2006 when we all said that would be the easiet section (compared to Florida, Hawaii, and Texas) and that ended up being the most difficult to get by the host school.