Florida Honors its Seniors With a Win Over LSU

Seniors Taylor Brauneis and Chloe Mann celebrated their last regular season home game with a 3-0 sweep against LSU

“Taylor B. with the set and Chloe Mann with the kill! It is all over here in Gainesville! Gators win!”

No matter how deep your stat books may go, you won’t find an exact count of how many times that quote was said over the past two years, but here’s a guess, a lot.

The No. 7 ranked Florida Gator volleyball sent its seniors Taylor Brauneis and Chloe Mann out in style in their last regular season home game as the Gators swept the LSU Tigers 25-16, 25-19, 25-20. This win brings the Gators to 26-3 on the season with one game left to play in the SEC regular season.

For Taylor Brauneis, in her two years as a Gator, she recorded over 4,000 assists and went into Senior Night with a 52-8 record. In 2012, she was first team All-SEC as well as an All-American honorable mention. Brauneis ended Friday’s match with a game-high 39 assists and six digs. When asked how she prepared for her extra spotlight tonight, she said in the end it, was just about going out and having fun.

“I got my emotion side out first,” Brauneis said. “When it came game time I just stayed focused, focused on the team and had fun.”

And it’s not often the City of Gainesville gets to see a star perform her whole career right in front of their eyes, but that’s what makes Chloe Mann’s journey such a treasure to the community of Gainesville. In her fifth year as a UF student and fourth year as a Gator player, Mann will leave as the all-time NCAA leader in career hitting percentage at .471. She has over 100 wins and two SEC championships, and ended last year All-SEC, SEC Player of the Year and first team All-American.

Mann started her volleyball career at Eastside High School in Gainesville; playing for the Florida Gators has been quite the hometown journey. Mann — like Brauneis — was there to enjoy the moment, more than prepare herself to miss it.

“To be honest I think it was really fun,” Mann said. “I’m not thinking of Senior Night as the end, I know hopefully we’ll still have the first and second round here in Gainesville. Tonight was just a fun night where we could celebrate us, celebrate the fans and celebrate everyone who’s been a part of our success at Florida.”

In the Gators final regular season game, the team will travel to Kentucky to take on the 21-6 Wildcats. In a rare look forward, Florida head coach Mary Wise said this match is all about putting her team in the best position to earn a top seed in the NCAA tournament.

“The challenge is going on the road and playing Kentucky in the last regular season game, Wise said. “It’s the last opportunity to put ourselves in every possible advantage to be a top 16 seed, and that’s what you want in women’s volleyball.”

For tonight, before the lights dimmed for the final time, all that filled the senior’s minds was the next play, the next hit and the next goal. On the match winning point it was Taylor B. to Chloe Mann to end the night in Gainesville and once again hear the broadcaster say “Gators win” as they had so many times before.

For audio on the quotes above, click here:

Taylor Brauneis

Chloe Mann

Mary Wise

About Trevor Sikkema

Check Also

Orange & Blue Sports Network

Catch the student-led broadcasts from the College of Journalism and Communications right here.

LIVE THREAD: National Signing Day

Here’s an updated thread of all the recruits who picked the Gator hat today! RB …

AFC Divisional Round Preview: Pittsburgh Steelers

During last weekend’s NFL Wild Card round, the Steelers made a statement by handing the Dolphins a …

Houston Looking For an Upset in Foxborough

The saying has always been “it’s hard to beat a good team twice,” and in …

Blue Jackets vs. Lightning Tonight

The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Tampa Bay Lightning will be facing each other once …

Possible Additions to McElwain’s Recruiting Class Visiting this Weekend

With National Signing Day less than three weeks away, the Gators are hosting several talented …

Florida Gymnastics Prepares for Season Opener

GAINESVILLE, FL – The Florida Gator gymnastics team will kick off their season this Sunday …

Surprised Gators Promote Randy Shannon To Defensive Coordinator? You Shouldn’t Be

Florida’s head coach, Jim McElwain, announced Friday morning that Randy Shannon would be making the …

Quarterbacks in Spotlight for NFL Wild Card Weekend

The NFL Wild Card kicks off Saturday and the quarterback situations could not be any more different. On …

College Football Playoff Shakes Up Schedule

The College Football Playoff was a success in its first year. Yet, that doesn’t stop …

Michael Jordan Speaks out about Shootings, Police Officers

NBA great Michael Jordan opened up about his thoughts about shootings of African-Americans and the …

Treon Harris to Transfer

With the college football season approaching, the Florida Gators have announced that former starting QB …

USA Basketball Wins Second Exhibition Game

Just a few short days after their big win over Argentina, team USA won its …

Charlotte Is No Longer The Home Of The 2017 NBA All-Star Game

The House Bill 2 came between Charlotte, North Carolina and the 2017 All-Star Game. The …

Tampa Bay Rays Continue Series Against Oakland

The Tampa Bay Rays are continuing their three-game winning streak. The Rays defeated the Oakland …

MLB Preview Tonight

It’s summer time—the best time to go to a baseball game and experience the atmosphere. …

Braves Begin Series With Rockies

The Atlanta Braves (33-62) open up a four-game road series with the Rockies (43-51) tonight …

Marlins To Close Out Series With The Phillies

The Miami Marlins are in the middle of a crucial ten game span against NL East …

Rays Crush Rockies 11-3, Face A’s Next

In the midst of a terrible season that has seen the Tampa Bay Rays (37-57) …

American League Second Half Outlook

The second half of the baseball season is in full swing which translates to? Pennant races. Teams …

National League Evening Preview

Tonight is a busy night for the National League in the MLB. Starting with the …

Big 12 Looks To Expand

Following a Tuesday meeting between Big 12 presidents, Oklahoma president David Boren announced that the …

LSU Looks To Capitalize On Its Opportunity

The Louisiana State University Tigers will enter the 2016 college football season with high expectations, …

Muschamp Helps Close Out SEC Media Days 2016

It wasn’t Will Muschamps first SEC Media Days experience, but 2016 marked the first time …

Phil Mickelson Leads British Open After First Day

The 145th annual 2016 British Open is underway at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland. The …

Missouri’s Football Crisis: Rebuilding A Program

On the final day of SEC Media Days, Barry Odom took the stand as Missouri’s head …

Second Half Of MLB Season Begins

The All-Star Break is a good time for teams to rest up and reform themselves …

British Open Underway

The 145th Open Championship is already underway at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland. Welcome …

Moore

Florida Defensive Back Devin Moore Talks Gators

With the increasing popularity of the transfer portal and hot new recruits, college football is …