In its first two games of the 2017 season, Florida showed a slight regress in its offensive abilities following a nearly nine-month hiatus from collegiate play. But now, a solid nine games into the season, the Gators are stepping up and proving why their offense in 2016 wasn’t a fluke.
Last year, the Gators led the nation in hitting percentage and held a top-10 position in kills and assists per set. Led by then-senior Alex Holston and current senior Rhamat Alhassan, the team had one of the best seasons in program history on the offensive side of the net.
This year, after its slow start against Texas and Nebraska opening weekend, the team has started to click on offense again with the second-best hitting percentage in the SEC and two top-five hitters in the conference, sophomore Rachael Kramer and Alhassan, sitting first and fifth overall, respectively.
Florida has also been able to kill the ball at a higher rate than its opponents, putting more shots into play and committing fewer errors on less attempts than its counterparts.
And going into its second SEC game of the season, the ball is starting to find those empty spots on the hardwood, leading to more points as Florida gets set to take on Tennessee today and LSU on Sunday.
“We don’t want to just get through games,” senior Carli Snyder said. “We want to thrive in them.”
Thriving is what the Gators have done. Florida only lost one set in its six games before playing the Razorbacks on Sunday. In that stretch, UF flaunted its offensive capabilities — along with its efficient play on defense — maintaining a hitting percentage over .300.
After the five-set thriller in Fayetteville, coach Mary Wise is making sure her team doesn’t overlook its opponents going into the weekend and keep it focused on the teams visiting the O’Connell Center.
“Tennessee is going to be well prepared,” Wise said on Wednesday. “They’re a very well-coached team and they run and use a huge roster… What you see is they’re more seasoned than a year ago.”
As for Florida’s other opponent, the Tigers will come into Gainesville on Sunday after playing at South Carolina just two days prior. Tennessee and LSU come into their respective games with a 1-1 record against SEC opponents this season.
“We play two good teams coming up this weekend, so it’s nice to go ‘Oh, we’re playing really good teams,’” Alhassan said. “I think Kentucky is ranked, what, like 10th, so having (good teams) in our conference just helps us in the long run.”
You can follow Justin Ahlum on Twitter @justinn_case1, and contact him at jahlum@alligator.org.
UF's Carli Snyder (left) and Rhamat Alhassan celebrate during Florida's 3-0 win against New Hampshire Dec. 3, 2015, in the O'Connell Center.
