Chloe Mann’s name has been inked in the NCAA’s record books since her sophomore campaign.
Her .900 hitting percentage against LSU on Nov. 11, 2011, was the second highest clip in NCAA history for players with 20 or more attacks in a match.
Now a senior and two years removed from her breakout performance, Mann remains the go-to offensive threat for coach Mary Wise and the No. 2 Gators.
The 6-foot-2 middle blocker hit .402 through 16 matches in 2012 en route to her first Southeastern Conference Player of the Year award and All-American honors.
Mann’s season average is currently .531, which is the second highest efficiency in the nation.
“She’s right in a situation where she may end her career with the best hitting percentage of any Division I player,” Wise said. “In her position, her offensive numbers are elite.”
During the weekend, the Gainesville native recorded 23 kills and no errors for a .697 clip.
On Sunday against Alabama, Mann’s .737 hitting percentage helped then-No. 3 Florida record a .529 efficiency, which was the third highest clip in a single match in program history.
With Mann leading the charge, the Gators, who are hitting .349 as a team, are on pace to break the .332 team record set in 2003.
That year, Florida went to its first and only national championship.
“For Chloe Mann to be hitting over [.600] in two matches, it just isn’t done,” Wise said. “You’ve got to remember that hitting efficiency is like baseball hitting percentage. If you get a hitter that was hitting .700 over two league matches, how impressive is that?”
And while most of her teammates started playing volleyball before high school, Mann didn’t take the court until her freshman year at Eastside High.
“Starting late, I thought it would put me at a disadvantage,” Mann said. “But I’m really happy with the progression that I feel like I made just based off my coaches, training and the help of all my teammates.”
Although Kelly Murphy never played middle blocker while at UF from 2008-2011, Wise said the two All-Americans have one skill in common, which has made them two of Florida’s top volleyball players of all time.
“One thing they do have in common is great hitter vision,” Wise said. “They see the block well and have the ability to hit balls around the block. As Kelly (left her mark), Chloe obviously will as well.”
Follow Jonathan Czupryn on Twitter @jczupryn.
Chloe Mann jumps to spike the ball during Florida’s four-set victory against Western Michigan in the O’Connell Center on Sept. 14
