Gators Open Home Schedule with Top-10 Matchup Against Minnesota

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 8 Florida Volleyball team opens the home portion of its schedule on Sunday with another Top-10 matchup as the fifth-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers come to town.

First serve is slated for 12 p.m. on ESPNU with Anne Marie Anderson and Kelly Burke on the call. The 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.

The Gators are coming off a 3-0 sweep of No. 2 Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif., while the Golden Gophers dropped a four-set contest to No. 7 Texas in their last match.

Minnesota holds the 6-2 series advantage, but the series is tied 2-2 in Gainesville, Fla.

Promotions

• Sunday’s match will serve as Florida’s Camper Reunion!
• Giveaways:

  • First 500 kids 12 & under receive a Gators Volleyball Autograph Book
  • First 250 students receive a Gators Volleyball Straw Hat
  • First 500 season ticket holders receive an exclusive season ticket holder mug

• This season, post-match autographs return on court
• There will also be a spike line for kids 12 & under following the match

National Spotlight

• As a team, the Gators are ranked in the Top-30 in the nation in the following:

  • Hitting percentage (29th | .305)

• Individually, three Gators are ranked in the Top-50 nationally:

  • Kennedy Martin: points per set (7th | 6.08) | kills per set (11th | 5.08)
  • Anna Dixon: blocks per set: (45th | 1.50) | hitting percentage (49th | .450)  
  • Alexis Stucky: assists per set (19th | 11.25)

Players of the Week

• For their performances over during the first week of play, both Kennedy Martin and Anna Dixon earned Player of the Week honors
• Martin was tabbed as AVCA National DI Player of the Week, SEC Player of the Week and SEC Offensive Player of the Week after registering 45 kills during the first two matches

  • The combined 45 kills were the most for a freshman in the first two matches of their career in the rally-scoring era, surpassing Thayer Hall’s mark of 41 in the 2018 season
  • She joins the ranks of Alexis Stucky (2022), Rhamat Alhassan (2014), Kelly Murphy (2008) and Elyse Cusack (2006) for the Florida freshmen to win AVCA DI Player of the Week and she was the first to do so after her first weekend of play

• Dixon recorded a career-high 14.0 blocks against South Florida, surpassing her previous career-high of 6.0. That mark was…