Gators Volleyball Set to Host 1st and 2nd Rounds of NCAA Tournament

The Florida Gators are dancing into the NCAA Tournament, as they earned the No. 4 seed in the top left bracket and hosting rights for the opening rounds.

https://twitter.com/GatorsVB/status/1728937094658363492

The Competition

Gainesville will feature three teams in addition to the Gators, with games on November 30 and December 1.

https://twitter.com/NCAAVolleyball/status/1728914129698844716

 

Additionally, the 18-9 Gators will face the 26-6 ASUN Conference Champion in the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.

Match 1 in the O’Connell Center between No. 5 Georgia Tech and South Alabama on Thursday is at 4:30 p.m., followed by Florida and FGCU in match 2 at 7 p.m.

Then, the winner of both games will then meet on Friday at 7 p.m. to decide who moves on.

https://twitter.com/NCAAVolleyball/status/1728914736379744572

The path is simply not easy for the Gators if they emerge from Gainesville on top, with the possibility of facing No.1 Nebraska, a hot ACC-Champion Florida State, and SEC-rivals in No. 3 Arkansas and No. 2 Kentucky.

Star Fire Power for Gators

With a tough challenge ahead, the Gators have weapons of their own and honors speaking for themselves.

Freshman hitter, Kennedy Martin, was tabbed to All-SEC Team and All-SEC Freshman Team recognition. the 6-foot-6 phenom set the new freshman record for kills in a season for Gator’s Volleyball, with 457 kills and counting, surpassing the likes of Ziva Recek’s 440 record from the 2012 season.

https://twitter.com/GatorsVB/status/1728866777223049479

Additionally, Martin led the Gators in kills per set throughout the regular season with 4.35, the highest in the conference.

She also finished with 10 or more kills in every match this season.

With the consistency of Martin, and a healthy heaping of senior leadership from players like AC Fitzpatrick and Kennedy Muff, the Gators are set to make a dangerous run in the NCAA tournament.