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Florida volleyball has already played three ranked teams this season. On Sunday, the Gators will face its toughest test yet at home against the No. 7 Texas Longhorns.
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The No. 18 Gators (10-3, 1-1 SEC) are coming off a home loss to No. 12 Kentucky in four sets, while the Longhorns (8-3, 3-0) sit atop the SEC after defeating Texas A&M, LSU and South Carolina. Impressively, they dropped just one set in those three games, and will look to get a fourth straight SEC win against Florida.
Heavy Hitters
Hitting percentage, which measures a team’s efficiency in getting kills from its attempt total, is something the Gators have been incredible at this season. Florida currently leads the SEC in that statistic at .310.
A big contributor has been the sensational freshman Jaela Auguste. She leads the Gators and ranks 10th in the conference with a .381 hitting percentage.
Chipping in as well is sophomore Kennedy Martin, who has recorded a hitting percentage above .300 four times this season.
Kennedy Space Center ☄️#GoGators pic.twitter.com/Op3jX71i2k
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) October 2, 2024
In comparison, Texas ranks sixth in the conference with a hitting percentage of .265.
In fact, the Longhorns do not stand out at all on the stat sheet. They rank around the middle of the the SEC in several major statistics, including opponent hitting percentage, kills and assists.
But make no mistake, Texas has been absolutely dominant on the court so far this season.
A Game of Momentum
Following their 3-0 road loss to No. 5 Stanford, the Longhorns have won five straight games and lost just two sets in that span.
However, they are still beatable. Earlier this season, when they ranked first in the nation, the Longhorns were upset by unranked Miami in a disappointing performance. In the loss, which went all five sets, Texas made 31 errors and posted a measly .176 hitting percentage.
Florida has won four of its last five games, with the lone loss coming against the Wildcats. The Gators were out blocked 9-4 by Kentucky and were unable to make a comeback after dropping the game’s first two sets.
While the Gators are 1-2 against ranked opponents this season, they have showed they can compete with top competition. They fought hard in the Kentucky game and secured a 3-2 win over No. 18 Florida State in September.
And if the team can play clean on Sunday, they will have a chance to hand Texas its first SEC loss.
Game Time
The Gators will host the Longhorns in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Sunday at 1 p.m.
