The Gators volleyball team will welcome a top-10 opponent to the O’Connell Center Sunday.
No. 5 Florida (3-1) will host its first home match against the No. 10 Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-2) at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Sunday at 2 p.m.
The two teams last met on Dec. 13, 2019 at the NCAA Regional Semifinal in Austin, Texas. The Gators fell to the Golden Gophers in five sets (25-23, 14-25, 25-16, 15-25, 11-15) despite having a 2-1 lead after three sets. Florida came away with a victory just once in six all-time contests against Minnesota.
Florida outside hitters T’ara Ceasar, Merritt Beason and Thayer Hall led the team with double-digit kills in its last match against No. 21 Stanford. Ceasar paced the team with 13 kills, Beason boasted a career-high 12 and Hall finished with 11.
Senior setter Marlie Monserez played a pivotal role in Florida’s offense with 41 assists and 21 digs and was just one dig away from tying her career-high. Monserez also made her presence felt at the Hornet Invitational with 61 assists during a double-header on Aug. 29 against UC Davis and Sacramento State.
The Golden Gophers ride into town off of a 3-1 loss against No. 1 Texas. Minnesota opened its season with a 3-1 loss at the hands of Baylor but recorded its first sweep against TCU on Aug. 28.
The first serve at the O’Dome is scheduled for 2 p.m. The match can be streamed on ESPNU.
Contact Kaitlyn Wadulack at kwadulack@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter at @kwadulack.
