Florida Opens SEC Play with Auburn, Georgia

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The third-ranked Florida volleyball team (8-1) begins Southeastern Conference play with a split weekend against Auburn (10-1) and Georgia (9-3).

The Gators travel to Auburn to face the Tigers on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, then return home to compete against the Georgia Bulldogs on Sunday at 7 p.m.

Friday night’s matchup is set to air on SEC Network +, while Sunday’s match will be nationally televised on the SEC Network with Sam Gore and Missy Whittemore on the call.

Sunday’s match can also be heard on the airways of ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM/850 AM with Tom Collett and Nick Cheronis on the call.

Florida is coming off a five-set loss to top-ranked Wisconsin last Sunday, while Auburn topped Samford in four sets on Sept. 16. The Bulldogs also won their last contest in four sets, defeating Howard last Sunday.

The Gators hold the advantage in both series: 53-2 (49-1 under Wise) against Auburn; 68-11 (65-3 under Wise) against Georgia.

Historic Attendance

• Florida set a new program record on Sunday, Sept. 16 against No. 1 Wisconsin with 10,323 fans in the stands of the Stephen C. O’Connell Center
• That is not only a O’Dome record, but also is the highest-attended match hosted by an SEC school all-time
• It is also the highest attendance for an on-campus volleyball match in the state of Florida

Milestones to Watch

• Elli McKissock currently sits eighth in Florida’s record books in career digs with 1,340
• She passed Aury Cruz for eighth place on Sept. 12 at Florida State
• She sits just 15 digs away from passing Roni Armeda (1986-89) for seventh place and 20 digs away from passing Rachael Engel (2002-05) for sixth place

National Spotlight

• As a team, the Gators are ranked in the Top-45 in the nation in the following:

  • Hitting percentage (29th | .277)
  • Blocks per set (41st | 2.51)

• Kennedy Martin is ranked in the Top-20 nationally in the following:

  • Points per set (7th | 5.25)
  • Kills per set (18th | 4.31)

Gators in the Polls

• After an 8-1 start to the season, including three wins over Top-10 teams, the Gators remained at No. 3 in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll
• Five SEC teams are ranked in the Top 25: No. 3 Florida, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 16 Arkansas, No. 22 Kentucky and No. 24 Auburn. Texas A&M (7) is receiving votes in this week’s poll

No. 3 Florida at No. 24…