The Florida volleyball team will sport a different look in tonight’s match against Oklahoma. The Gators will wear their black jerseys with fans encouraged to wear black for Wednesday’s Blackout Match at the O’Connell Center.
The 7 p.m. match is one of positioning in the SEC standings. A win would allow Oklahoma (12-6, 4-4 SEC) to pull even with Florida (10-7, 5-3) in the standings, where the Gators are in fifth.
Since 1995, Florida has faced Oklahoma four times and remains undefeated. The teams met in Oklahoma last year, when the Gators won 3-2. However, this week’s matchup marks the first conference matchup in Gainesville.
The Gators aim to stay dominant in The Swamp with a 6-1 record, especially after a tough two-game road stretch.
Away from Gainesville, the Gators fell short against No. 3 Kentucky, but beat No. 16 Tennessee. Despite being unranked, Florida pushed both the Wildcats and Vols to five sets.
Oklahoma has been on the road for the last two games and fell to No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 2 Texas.
Florida will rely on its defense to take on the Sooners. Florida’s outside hitter Jordyn Byrd had five blocks against Tennessee. Setter Alexis Stucky finished the week with 22 digs. Middle blocker Alec Rothe also had a solid game against Kentucky with seven blocks. Florida’s defense held the Wildcats to a .201 hitting percentage, their lowest in an SEC matchup and second lowest overall, second only to No. 1 Nebraska.
Oklahoma leads the SEC in blocks, averaging .306 per set. Oklahoma’s secret weapons lie with junior KJ Burgess, who stands as the highest-ranked power-four athlete in the country, and senior Alexis Shelton, ranked ninth in the SEC in kills and points per set.
The match will be carried on the SEC Network+ and ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF.
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Volleyball, SEC, Volleyball