Things were supposed to be different this time for Florida’s volleyball team.
Chris Chiozza stripped the ball from Incarnate Word guard Keaton Hervey, spun to his left and fired a pass to teammate KeVaughn Allen.
With two and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter, Florida guard Paulina Hersler received a pass at the top of the key. She stepped back, jumped up and drained the three-pointer, giving the Gators a 24-point advantage, their largest lead of the contest.
Chris Chiozza stole the ball from a James Madison guard late in the first half, sprinted down the court and scored an uncontested layup.
Dyandria Anderson hadn’t scored all game. Undeterred, the Florida guard drove down the right side of the court. With the Gators down by three and just under five minutes remaining in the contest, Anderson lurched hard into a trailing defender and drained a layup while drawing a foul. She then swished the free throw and tied the game up at 55 apiece.
The Florida men’s and women’s diving teams wrapped up action at the Auburn Invitational on Tuesday afternoon, finishing in fourth and third place, respectively, in the three-day competition.
The relentless hustle of Nebraska and a night riddled with miscues doomed Florida’s chances of winning its first NCAA title in program history, capping off what was otherwise a solid season for UF after reaching the Final Four for the first time since 2003.
As a three-point jumper from Florida guard KeVaughn Allen clanked off the side of the rim, Clemson forward Elijah Thomas started sprinting down the court.
The motto has been the same for Florida all year long: Find a way to win.
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.
Solutions by The State News
