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Friday, March 29, 2024

UF volleyball unsatisfied with simply competing in NCAA Tournament

<p>They lost three senior backrow players from a year ago and lost five conference matches for the first time in 25 years under Mary Wise, but the Gators still made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Here are our two features on two players who got them there: Patrick Pinak's story on the knitting middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan (<span id="docs-internal-guid-905e0b25-fa10-c6b1-2297-f238d96d93e5"><a href="http://www.alligator.org/sports/volleyball/article_0a8cb024-8447-11e5-9fdb-c7277e26ef59.html"><span>http://www.alligator.org/sports/volleyball/article_0a8cb024-8447-11e5-9fdb-c7277e26ef59.html</span></a></span>) and Brian Lee's look at Ziva Recek's journey (<span id="docs-internal-guid-905e0b25-fa11-2ded-89cd-623b4a7d4388"><a href="http://www.alligator.org/sports/volleyball/article_a26ac8a4-9973-11e5-87b8-c375ed626332.html"><span>http://www.alligator.org/sports/volleyball/article_a26ac8a4-9973-11e5-87b8-c375ed626332.html</span></a></span>)</p>

They lost three senior backrow players from a year ago and lost five conference matches for the first time in 25 years under Mary Wise, but the Gators still made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Here are our two features on two players who got them there: Patrick Pinak's story on the knitting middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan (http://www.alligator.org/sports/volleyball/article_0a8cb024-8447-11e5-9fdb-c7277e26ef59.html) and Brian Lee's look at Ziva Recek's journey (http://www.alligator.org/sports/volleyball/article_a26ac8a4-9973-11e5-87b8-c375ed626332.html)

The Florida volleyball team is in familiar territory.

For the 25th consecutive season, the Gators are playing in the NCAA tournament.

Since coach Mary Wise took the helm of the program in 1991, the Gators haven’t missed the dance.

During this span, Florida’s consistent excellence has been nothing short of remarkable.

The team has been the Goliath of the Southeastern Conference, winning an extraordinary 21 titles, including 18 straight from 1991-2008.

Even more impressive, the team lost just 10 conference games, including the now-disbanded SEC tournament, during those 18 years and had 11 seasons in which they were perfect in conference play.

However, despite this run of success, the ultimate prize has consistently eluded the Gators: A national championship.

Wise has led the Gators to the Final Four seven times.

The closest the team has gotten to hoisting the championship trophy came in 2003, when they lost in the final game to the University of Southern California.

Entering the season, she was the third-winningest active coach in Division I volleyball, with an .845 career winning percentage and 823 total wins — 742 of which have come at Florida.

But this season, the Gators have struggled more than usual.

While their 22-6 overall record is impressive, the team went 13-5 in the SEC. These five losses in 2015 alone total half of what the program lost from 1991-2008.

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One of Florida’s biggest struggles has been its inability to close out matches.

Twice this season, Florida has let a 2-0 set lead slip through its grasp. Both matches were on the road — one at Missouri and the other at Texas A&M.

The Gators are 0-5 in five-set matches, a statistic that cannot go unnoticed.

But now it is time to hit the reset button.

No team is perfect, and the Gators are no exception.

Florida will head into the NCAA tournament coming off a 3-0 win against LIU Brooklyn on Senior Day Friday, a victory that gave the team much-needed momentum.

The 11th-seeded Gators open their first-round action on Thursday when they take on New Hampshire at 7 p.m.

If Florida advances, it will face the winner of Florida State vs. Arizona State on Friday.

But Wise is stressing to her team the importance of not overlooking any opponent.

"All attention goes to our first round opponent in New Hampshire," she said.

Since Florida and New Hampshire have not played this season, the game will provide an opportunity for the Gators to play a team outside the conference with whom they are unfamiliar.

And while the team has had its fair share of struggles, Wise’s goal was always to have the Gators playing their best volleyball in December.

The ultimate prize is still ahead of them.

 Follow Brian Lee on Twitter @brianlee_17

The UF volleyball team celebrates a point during Florida's 3-0 win against Alabama on Nov. 13, 2015, in the O'Connell Center.

They lost three senior backrow players from a year ago and lost five conference matches for the first time in 25 years under Mary Wise, but the Gators still made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Here are our two features on two players who got them there: Patrick Pinak's story on the knitting middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan (http://www.alligator.org/sports/volleyball/article_0a8cb024-8447-11e5-9fdb-c7277e26ef59.html) and Brian Lee's look at Ziva Recek's journey (http://www.alligator.org/sports/volleyball/article_a26ac8a4-9973-11e5-87b8-c375ed626332.html)

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