It began promisingly enough.
Squaring off against defending national champions Nebraska at the VERT Challenge, the No. 10-ranked Florida volleyball team stole the first set of its season-opening tilt in extra points, claiming an early advantage over the top-ranked Cornhuskers.
For all of their energy, however, UF’s youthful side was soon worn down.
“There is a reason they are the preseason No. 1-ranked team,” head coach Mary Wise said of Nebraska in a release. “They’re very efficient and low error.”
Plagued by inconsistency and bad luck, the Gators wilted under Nebraska’s unrelenting attack, dropping their remaining three sets and kicking off a new era of Florida volleyball on an inauspicious note with a 3-1 loss.
Working with an 18-woman roster that is equal parts rookie and veteran, coach Wise fielded a starting rotation loaded with returning talent. Except for libero Caroline Knop and setter Allie Monserez, all starters had in-game familiarity with Wise’s system.
And, initially, it worked.
In a back-and-forth set, the Gators eked out a 27-25 first-set victory on the strength of outside hitter Alex Holston’s 13 kills.
But then, the attack stalled.
The Gators committed seven errors in the second set, enabling Nebraska to rattle off an 8-1 run en route to a 10-point loss.
The third set didn’t bode much better.
Hitting just .054 percent, UF battled their opponents to a 6-5 scoreline before Nebraska’s Amber Holfzen sparked a 6-0 run. Florida eventually lost the set 25-16, outscored 50-31 during its two-set power outage.
And while the Gators somewhat rediscovered their form in an eventual 25-21 fourth-set defeat, the offense’s struggles took center stage.
Connecting on .260 of its hit attempts, Florida fell .053 points shy of last season’s hitting percentage.
All-American middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan — UF’s active career leader in hitting efficiency (.437) — had an off-night, finishing with a.188 hitting percentage and failing to register a single solo block.
The disconnect extended to the service game as well. UF managed a single service ace to Nebraska’s five, committing 10 service errors in the process.
One rally in the second set encapsulated the Gators’ night — despite rejecting the Cornhuskers at the net three separate times, a final block bounced off the head of a Nebraska player, falling in between Florida’s defense for a soft kill.
This early into a new season, though, in-game chemistry remains a major key. Its effect was amplified given the amount of fresh talent populating UF’s bench.
“It was the first time Shainah Joseph has played the O2, first time Caroline Knop has worn the libero jersey, first start for Taelor Kellum, the first time Allie Gregory, Darrielle King, Morgyn Greer, Rachael Kramer and Chanelle Hargreaves have played in a college match,” Wise said.
“That’s a lot of ‘firsts’ against the defending national champions. We’re an awfully young team to go toe-to-toe with such an experienced team this early in the season.”
Regardless, Florida will soon have another attempt to rediscover its mojo. The squad is slated to take on the unranked Oregon Ducks tomorrow at 9 pm EST.
Contact Alejandro López at alopez@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @ajlb95.
Right-side hitter Alex Holston swings for a kill during Florida's 3-1 win against Miami in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Dec. 6 in the O'Connell Center.
