There’s a lot of excitement within the Florida volleyball team. Excitement for 2017 home matches to finally be played at the O’Connell Center again.
Excitement for a pair of top-five matchups to open the season. Excitement for the leadership and experience of the team’s five returning seniors.
And excitement for three athletes who have just begun their playing careers at UF.
Despite the departure of Alex Holston, a four-time All-American who led the team in points last season, the Gators seem primed for another successful year in 2017.
Coach Mary Wise said she does not expect any one player to fill the void left by Holston. Instead, she’s looking to the whole team to pitch in, starting with redshirt freshman Mia Sokolowski.
“Her top end is very high,” Wise said of Sokolowski.
The Tucson, Arizona, native had a strong debut in an exhibition match vs. Coastal Carolina last Saturday. The general vibe around the team is that Sokolowski is the Gators’ most improved player entering the 2017 season.
Middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan praised Sokolowski’s breakout performance, one of several players to do so.
“She killed it on Saturday,” Alhassan said.
True freshmen Paige Hammons and Macy Phillips will also be counted on to help cover the loss of Holston. Alhassan and redshirt junior Allie Monserez both commented that the two freshmen came in already possessing high volleyball IQs.
Coach Wise was pleased with how fast the two first-years are catching on as well.
The 12th-ranked Gators open the regular season on Friday against No. 1 Texas, a team they lost to in their 2015 regional final match.
Wise called the back-and-forth, five-set, season-ending loss a “typical, epic Florida-Texas volleyball match.”
Florida will get a chance to avenge that loss in their season opener, its third consecutive year taking part in the VERT Challenge.
On Saturday, the Gators play No. 5 Nebraska on Day 2 of the event. Florida lost to then-No. 1 Nebraska 3-1 in the first game of last season.
The Gators will play both games at home in Exactech Arena.
While the team hopes to enjoy the upcoming season, they are still taking opening weekend very seriously.
“They’re going to come in here and they’re going to fight and they’re going to give us there all,” said Alhassan, who also added that “…it’s going to be a fun match, for sure.”
“These are two teams whose rosters are filled with all-conference, All-American, High School All-Americans-type talent,” said Wise. “They’re very, very deep and very talented.”
You can follow Andrew Huang on Twitter @AndrewJHuang, and contact him at ahuang@alligator.org.
Florida's volleyball team holds an open practice after media day on Aug. 22.
