Georgia at Florida
When: Friday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m.
Radio: 103.7 FM
Radio: 103.7 FM
The trio of regular-season-ending matches begins tonight when 17th-ranked UF (21-5, 14-3) hosts Georgia (11-16, 7-10) at 7 p.m. in the O'Connell Center.
Entering this weekend's matches, it's a three-horse race for the SEC title between the top three teams in the SEC East. No. 14 Tennessee (24-3, 16-1) is in the driver's seat, followed by No. 16 Kentucky (24-4, 15-2) and Florida.
Head coach Mary Wise's main focus, however, is not on the SEC finish line, but on her team's performance heading into the all-important postseason. And lately, she's had plenty to smile about — most notably Chloe Mann.
The former Eastside standout is coming off a dominating, record-setting performance in last weekend's sweep of LSU and Arkansas. In the two wins, Mann hit a blistering .589 with 37 kills and 10 blocks.
She was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week for her efforts, becoming the first UF middle blocker since 2007 to earn the award and only the third to be so honored since the inception of the award in 2004.
“Those are back-to-back matches the likes of which we haven't seen very often,” Wise said. “It's been really fun and amazing to watch.”
The Gators will host Auburn for Senior Day Sunday, honoring seniors Cassandra Anderson, Stephanie Ferrell, Elissa Hausmann, Kristy Jaeckel and Kelly Murphy. First serve is set for 1:30 p.m. and the match will air live on Sun Sports.
The regular season ends Wednesday when UF hosts South Carolina at 7 p.m.
“All three teams, now playing them for the second time, the benefit is playing at home,” Wise said. “But it's a matter now of just getting better and playing our best volleyball toward the end of the season, and that's what we'll be trying to do over those next three matches.”
