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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Gators volleyball team looking to avoid complacency, tackle season together

<p>UF coach Mary Wise talks with her players during Florida's 3-1 win over Marshall on Sept. 17, 2016, in the Lemerand Athletic Center.  </p>

UF coach Mary Wise talks with her players during Florida's 3-1 win over Marshall on Sept. 17, 2016, in the Lemerand Athletic Center.  

After an opening weekend that featured a pair of top-5 upsets at the hands of the Florida volleyball team, the No. 3 Gators insist that they’re still hungry for more.

“We don’t want to peak in August,” senior libero Caroline Knop said. “We want to peak in December when it matters most.”

Redshirt freshman Mia Sokolowski stressed the importance of staying focused after the Gators jumped nine spots in the AVCA Top 25 behind back-to-back victories over then-No. 1 Texas and then-No. 5 Nebraska.

The Tucson, Arizona, native has embraced a larger role in 2017 after sitting out her first season in Gainesville. She is expected to help fill the void of recently departed four-time All-American Alex Holston, the team’s leading points scorer a year ago.

Sokolowski said coach Mary Wise helps inspire the team, and that hopefully she could help inspire them to avoid complacency moving forward.

But the other players understand that they have to step up as well.

When asked about avoiding the hangover of a big opening weekend, Wise said that the team was going to have to rely on its seniors.

Wise said that the seniors’ experience is important, as well as their understanding that “whether it was a big win or a tough loss, at any point in the season, it’s always about how you’re getting better for the next match.”

That mentality seems to have already rubbed off on sophomore Rachael Kramer, who said that it didn’t matter if the opponent was ranked No. 1 or not ranked at all—the Gators plan to take every team they play seriously.

Kramer was named player of the week by the AVCA, SEC, and ESPNW following a pair of breakout performances in the VERT Challenge, including the deciding point against Nebraska, one of a career-high 20 kills on the night.

Wise credited Kramer’s hard work in the gym and video room over the summer, as well as her high volleyball IQ, as reasons that the 6-foot-8 middle blocker has seen an increase in playing time and production in her second season.

Wise also noted that one of the biggest takeaways from the first two games was that the 2017 team could win with defense. Wise, in her 27th year as Florida’s head coach, called it an “epiphany”.

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Knop credited the defense as well, adding that this year’s team could already be a step ahead of last year’s squad.

“Being able to win when things aren’t going well is a skill we love to have here at Florida and one we didn’t necessarily have last year,” added Knop. “Against a good Kentucky team, we kind of crumbled. Against a good Missouri team, we didn’t find a way to fight.”

Knop, among others, attested that having been together for over a year, the team had become very close-knit.

“You can see the chemistry on the court and off the court,” Kramer said. “We’re all great friends, we all get along.”

The team now travels to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to take part in the SEC-ACC Challenge. It will face North Carolina State on Sept. 2 and No. 16 North Carolina on Sept. 3.

When asked if the team planned on going to the beach in Puerto Rico, Kramer’s response said it all. “Hopefully we can go and spend some more time bonding.”

You can follow Andrew Huang on Twitter @AndrewJHuang, and contact him at ahuang@alligator.org.

UF coach Mary Wise talks with her players during Florida's 3-1 win over Marshall on Sept. 17, 2016, in the Lemerand Athletic Center.  

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