After falling to the No. 18 Kentucky Wildcats on Wednesday in straight sets, the Lady Vols volleyball team is hungry for a second SEC victory of the year as they prepare to host the No. 8 Florida Gators on Sunday.
The Lady Vols (8-15, 1-8 SEC) are coming off a win against Ole Miss on Sunday, which head coach Rob Patrick said helped the confidence of the team.
“(The victory) was real important,” Patrick said. “Our kids have been working really hard. We’ve been playing in spurts very, very well where we can play with just about anybody in the conference.
“What I really like about the Ole Miss win is that we actually played well for the entire match, which is something that we’ve been able to do.”
The Gators (17-3, 10-0 SEC) are a force to be reckoned with in every aspect of their play. Florida has won 12 of their 17 matches in straight sets this year. The Gators have also won the second and third set a combined 34 times this season, while holding their opponent to only four wins in such sets.
The Gators excel at being dominant when the ball is in their side of their court. Along with their SEC-low 299 errors this season, Florida’s .302 hitting percentage is also top in the SEC. Their opponent’s hitting percentage is also the lowest in the SEC at .160. The 14.04 kills per set for the Gators is second in the SEC, as well.
“We have to be able to play disciplined and set up our blocks in the right spot,” Patrick said. “Hopefully, we can take one out of their three hitters out of system, and be able to defend the other two hitters.”
If the Lady Vols want to pull the upset over Florida, they will have to slow down Florida middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan. The freshman is currently leading the SEC in hitting percentage at .472 and is third in the SEC in blocks per set with 1.33.
“Nobody in our conference has anybody playing at her height at the net,” Patrick said. “We’re gonna have to rely on our back row. If you serve them tough, and serve them in the right spots so they can’t get the ball to her, then that’s the first part in trying to defend her.”
A team’s identity is brought up throughout the season, and it’s no different for Patrick’s squad this year. The Lady Vols’ coach of 17 years is proud of his team this year for competing hard in every match.
“We’re a good volleyball team,” Patrick said. “We better the ball when it needs to get bettered. If somebody doesn’t pass the ball perfect, our center does a really nice drop of making that bad pass into a better set.
“We haven’t been that way as a team. We’ve had a little more athletes than volleyball players most of the time, and now we have a lot more volleyball players on the court. Now we’re able to better the ball and play the game of volleyball better than we have in the past.”
The Lady Vols will look to snap Florida’s 12-game winning streak when the two face off Sunday at noon inside Thompson-Boling Arena.
