As Rachael Kramer lightly hit the ball over the net and away from the outstretched arms of a diving Stanford player, Florida's volleyball team exploded with excitement.
Sewing together articles of clothing. Knitting blankets and scarves with friends.
The last time Florida’s volleyball team reached the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, the current players on its roster were still in elementary school. Some weren’t even in kindergarten yet.
With less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Florida guard Dyandria Anderson stopped her dribble and launched a cross court pass to teammate Funda Nakkasoglu. Nakkasoglu caught the ball, launched a three from the corner of the court and watched it fall through the bottom of the net.
Gators senior Rhamat Alhassan sat next to redshirt senior Shainah Joseph and coach Mary Wise. Microphones were perched in front of them and a backdrop checkered with the NCAA’s logo stood behind them.
Chris Chiozza signaled for his teammates to move away from the right side of the court with the game tied at 60.
Following a Florida timeout late in the first set, freshman Paige Hammons had one job to do: pass a settable ball to one of her teammates so the Gators could tie the score at 24-all.
Trailing by two with less than a minute remaining in the game, KeVaughn Allen drove down the court. The junior guard galloped to the right side of the lane, throwing up a layup that was tightly contested by a Loyola-Chicago defender.
Halfway through the third quarter, Florida’s women’s basketball team felt momentum shifting in its favor.
Mike White sat silently in front of reporters Monday night, ruminating in disappointment.
Just five days from Christmas 2003, the Gators volleyball team was in Dallas, hoping to win its first national title and avenge its only loss of the season against undefeated Southern California.
On Sunday night, the Gators (5-3) celebrated their second road win of the year the same way as their first.
I had my first panic attack during my junior year of high school.
I’m not very skilled at basketball. I can’t shoot. I can barely dribble. And being short enough to order off a kids’ menu doesn’t help.
Freshman guard Mike Okauru received an inbounds pass 15 minutes into the first half and immediately knew what to do with the ball.
When Gorjok Gak walked onto the floor of the O’Connell Center, his first defensive play didn’t go as planned. Right away, the 6-foot-11 center fouled a driving MJ Walker, and Florida State extended its lead to 14-7.
Egor Koulechov’s tone of voice matched the way Florida played in an 83-66 home loss: soft.
Gordon Neale had everything settled. As a top-25 prospect in his recruiting class, he had his pick of offers from high-profile programs. But there was only one school he wanted to attend. With a scholarship lined up, he was headed to play golf at Southern Methodist University.
As Funda Nakkasoglu missed a wide-open layup, she and teammate Haley Lorenzen shared a laugh. Her embarrassing miss didn’t matter, as the Gators (5-3) were just minutes away from sealing an 80-61 road victory over the Oklahoma Sooners (3-4).
In recent years, Florida State has wrangled Florida in multiple sports.
Solutions by The State News
