After clinching at least a share of the 2014 SEC title Sunday with a 3-1 win at 15th ranked Kentucky, the seventh ranked Gators have just three more SEC matches remaining, two on the road.
Florida (21-3, 15-0 SEC) will head to Ole Miss (20-8, 6-8 SEC) for a Friday night showdown, followed by a Sunday matinee against Arkansas (14-14, 7-8 SEC).
Sophomore right side Alex Holston and freshman middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan picked up SEC Offensive and Freshman Player of the Week honors, respectively, for their contributions to another outstanding week for the Gators last week.
After notching their 12th SEC sweep Wednesday against Auburn at home thanks to 13 and 10 points from Holston and Alhassan, the Gators went on the road to a raucous Memorial Coliseum Sunday and downed their fourth top-25 ranked opponent this season, 3-1,for their 16th consecutive victory.
In addition to 15 slams apiece in Wildcat territory, Holston and Alhassan each had four roofs, while Holston served up three of Florida’s five aces in the match and led the Gators last week with four total. Alhassan, who posted a .636 hitting efficiency Wednesday against the Tigers, paced UF with a .529 clip through both the Auburn and Kentucky matches, while her 15 kills Sunday were one shy of her career-best 16.
Gator head coach Mary Wise credits her team’s growth as theme for success on the year.
“The most important thing,” Wise said. “More than the outcome, has been the development of the players, the development of the team. And how much better we are at so many aspects of the game, both from a team standpoint and an individual standpoint.”
The Gators own the series leads against Ole Miss and Arkansas. Florida leads the Ole Miss series, 44-3, and are 38-0 under Mary Wise. In the Arkansas series, Florida leads, 36-2, all coming under Wise.
First serve between the Gators and Rebels is 7:30 p.m. Friday, while the Gators and Razorbacks will match up in Fayetteville at noon.
For comments from coach Wise, click below:
Wise recaps the Kentucky match
Wise on the improvements her squad has made throughout the season
Wise talks about her squad bouncing back when they are down early