Florida head coach Mary Wise talks with her team before their match against New Hampshire.

Gators vs Wildcats Volleyball Preview

The No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats are taking a trip to Gainesville this week. The No. 7 Florida Gators will be hosting the blue and white in their second-to-last team matchup of the season.

Florida

The Gators will be hosting the Wildcats in their last home matches of the season. This two-day series will start on Friday and head into Saturday.

Florida is 16-2, on an 11 game win-streak. This includes Florida’s wins over Missouri last week. On top of that, the orange and blue are 9-1 at home. Both of the losses the Gators faced came in November, one to South Carolina and one to Georgia.

Senior Day

Before Saturday’s first serve, the Gators will be honoring their seniors in Senior Day fashion. The players being honored include Holly Carlton, Paige Hammons, Darrielle King and Mia Sokolowski.

Scenes from the Gators’ 3-0 win against the Crimson Tide on October 30, 2020.
Photo by Jessica Seldner

Carlton is a 6 foot 7 right side/setter. This season alone, she had 147 kills, 39 digs, 16 service aces and 56 blocks.

Hammons is a 6 foot 1 outside hitter. In the 2020-2021 season, she had six kills, 27 digs and 12 service aces.

King is a 6 foot 3 middle blocker. Her 2020-2021 performance included seven kills and four blocks.

Sokolowski is a 6 foot 4 outside and right side hitter. This season, she had 11 kills, three digs and four blocks.

Kentucky

The undefeated Kentucky Wildcats are coming off of a win against Ole Miss on Saturday. The team is 16-0 heading into the matchup with Florida and is slated to face off against the University of Alabama on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Wildcats are the only team left in the SEC that remains undefeated.

Here is what Florida head coach Mary Wise had to say about Kentucky’s season.

Kentucky’s two postponed series with University of South Carolina and Texas A&M, have still not been rescheduled.

Gators-Wildcats History

The Gators and Wildcats have played 67 games in their history together. In Gainesville, the Gators are 24-8 against the Wildcats, and overall lead Kentucky 51-16.

Tune into live coverage of Friday’s matchup on SEC Network+ or listen live on ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM WRUF.

About Rylee McIver

Rylee is a fourth year journalism major with a specialization in sports and media at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.

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