Gator Volleyball Defeats Top-Ranked Texas

The energy and buzz inside Exactech Arena on Friday night continued to escalate as the No. 12 Gator volleyball team went on to defeat No. 1 Texas.

Match Recap

The Gators looked refreshed and fierce as they went up against Texas. The Gators went 3-1 winning the first, second and fourth set.

In the first set, the Gators took a solid lead and won 25-16. During their second set, the point gap closed significantly, but they still won 25-23. The Gators slipped up in the third set losing 25-18. However, they came in the fourth set to win again 25-21.

The match point was scored by Shainah Joseph. During a post-game interview, Joseph explained how the team needed to prepare to go up against Texas.

We had to come into the game thinking that we are as physical as they are. There are going to be some plays that are just going to be good plays because they are really good, but then we just have to stay focused on our side and keep working on the things that we work on throughout preseason.

https://twitter.com/GatorsVB/status/901288910097133569

#Operation6K

Defeating Texas was not the only thing that happened in the Exactech Arena on Friday night. The social media campaign #Operation6K launched on Monday with the team and head coach Mary Wise’s hopes of getting 6,000 fans to attend the volleyball team’s season opener.

However, the Gators got more than they expected with a final count of 7,523 fans showing up. That number is recorded as being the second largest crowd in the university’s history.

7⃣5⃣2⃣3⃣ strong tonight!! 2nd-largest crowd in school history. Shout-out to all our fans!#Operation6k – ✅ pic.twitter.com/cKd4Jn4mCq

— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) August 26, 2017

The Gators take on No. 5 Nebraska Saturday night at 5 p.m.