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Thursday, March 28, 2024
<p>After recording 105 kills in 32 games in 2017, UF outside hitter Paige Hammons showed off her defense in the 2018 Orange and Blue scrimmage. </p>

After recording 105 kills in 32 games in 2017, UF outside hitter Paige Hammons showed off her defense in the 2018 Orange and Blue scrimmage. 

Her list of high school accolades takes up a whole laptop screen, and her talent and volleyball IQ takes up the whole court on gameday.

For the Gators, freshman Paige Hammons’ production since coming to Gainesville has boosted her into the starting lineup and bolstered an already stacked rotation featuring the likes of All-American Rhamat Alhassan and senior Carli Snyder.

When asked about Hammons’ impact for Florida since her arrival, Snyder credited her ability to take advice from everyone on the team.

“She came in with such a good work ethic and such a will to learn,” Snyder said. “And I think that’s exactly what she’s done over the past month or so is just really, learn so much about our system and take all information with such an open mind.”

Hammons, a Louisville, Kentucky, native, found herself in the starting lineup on Saturday night for the second time this season, playing her best game in the process. By the end of the match, the freshman finished with 14 digs, tied for the most on the team.

In an interview after UF’s match against Lipscomb on Saturday night, Hammons credited many of the seniors on the team in helping her improve her game.

“Rhamat (Alhassan) is (who) I look to for blocking,” Hammons said. “Carli (Snyder) is mainly what I look to for outside hitting and CK’s (Caroline Knop) my go-to for serving and defense.”

The 2016 Miss Kentucky Volleyball has seen improvement in every game so far, ranging from her hitting to her defensive play. In addition to her 14 digs against the Bisons, Hammons was able to amass a season high in kills, totalling six kills on 19 total attacks.

But her early success shouldn’t come as a surprise. Before taking her talents to Florida, Hammons played for the USA’s junior national team from 2016 to 2017, winning a gold medal at the U20 Pan American Championships and a silver medal at the NORCECA Championships, a competition for national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean, as well.

As Hammons continues to grow at UF, her potential begins to show as well, making it clear why she was named a high school All-American and FloVolleyball’s 2016 High School National Player of the Year. For the Gators, Hammons is a welcome addition to a senior-heavy team, as one of her teammates put it.

“She’s taking on a huge role and doing it so nicely,” Snyder said. “I give her a lot of credit. That’s something I could not do my freshman year.”

You can follow Justin Ahlum on Twitter @justinn_case1, and contact him at jahlum@alligator.org.

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After recording 105 kills in 32 games in 2017, UF outside hitter Paige Hammons showed off her defense in the 2018 Orange and Blue scrimmage. 

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