Gators-Cardinal Set for Marquee Matchup

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center will play host to a Top-15 matchup Tuesday between the No. 13 Florida Gators and the 12th-ranked Stanford Cardinal.

First serve is slated for 7 p.m. on SEC Network with Eric Frede and Holly McPeak on the call. The match can also be heard on the airways of ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM/850 AM.

Both the Gators and the Cardinal went undefeated during their opening weekends, with Florida defeating North Florida, ETSU and Virginia. Stanford kicked off its 2022 campaign with wins over Lipscomb and Tennessee State.

Stanford holds the 8-5 series advantage over Florida.

National Spotlight

• As a team, the Gators are ranked in the Top-10 in the nation in three categories:

  • Hitting percentage (3rd | .378)
  • Aces per set (5th | 2.91)
  • Total service aces (6th | 32)

• Individually, Bre Kelley is ranked seventh in the nation in hitting percentage (.558), while Merritt Beason is third in total service aces (10) and 10th in aces per set (0.91)
• Alexis Stucky ranks 14th in the country in aces per set (0.89), 20th in assists per set (11.00) and 21st in total aces (8)

Last Time Against Stanford

• The last time these two teams faced off was just under one year ago, with Stanford taking the four-set match in Palo Alto, Calif. on Aug. 31 (24-26, 18-25, 25-17, 23-25)
• Three Gators registered double-digit kills on the evening, led by 13 from former Gator T’ara Ceasar. Merritt Beason added a career-high 12, while Gator alumna Thayer Hall posted 11 in the four-setter
• Former Gator Lauren Forte recorded nine kills, hitting .412 on the night, while Gator alumna Lauren Dooley pitched in five kills of her own
• Former Gator Marlie Monserez anchored Florida’s offense, dishing out 41 assists in the match
• The Gators recorded 11.5 blocks as a team, led by a season-best seven from Dooley. Beason and Monserez added four blocks apiece at the net, while Forte posted two blocks
• Monserez led the way with 21 digs in the four-setter, just one dig off tying her career-high. Elli McKissock posted 16 digs of her own, while Hall added eight

Last Time Out

• Florida defeated all three teams at the Gators Invitational this past weekend, moving to 3-0 to start the 2022 campaign
• The Gators were led on the offensive front by Merritt Beason, who recorded 41 kills with a .349 hitting…