The 14th-seeded Florida volleyball team (27-4, 19-1 SEC)
swept the College of Charleston Cougars (27-8, 14-2 SoCon) in the second round
of the NCAA Tournament Saturday, sending the Gators to their 21st Sweet 16 in
22 seasons under Florida head coach Mary Wise. The 3-0 (25-20, 25-16,
25-14) victory was Florida’s 19th sweep of the season.
“With the quick turnaround from last night’s
match to tonight’s match and (with) College of Charleston playing at such a
high level, I think a lot of the credit goes to (associate head coach) Dave
Boos and the work he did overnight to prepare the video, the game plan and
without exception in each area of their offense,” Wise said. “What we had seen
on video was what we worked on briefly. It was the right time to play them
because they run such a varied offense. Right now, our defensive volleyball IQ
has risen to the point where we did a pretty good job tonight against a very
offensive team.”
The Gators will face No. 3 seed Texas Longhorns (25-4, 15-1
Big 12) at Gregory Gymnasium on the campus of University of Texas, Austin. The
regional semifinal match is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Friday, December 7. The
winner advances to the regional final against either No. 6 seed USC or Wichita
State at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 8.
