Tag: Volleyball

Lady Vols open spring volleyball with win over Missouri

Recapping UT’s volleyball victory over Missouri Friday night.

The spring portion of the Southeastern Conference volleyball schedule opened on a winning note for the University of Tennessee.

The Lady Vols rallied from two sets down to capture a 5-set thriller against No. 16 Missouri Friday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Lady Vols notched a 27-25, 25-27, 18-25, 26-24, 15-11 victory over the Tigers.

The victory was the second for Tennessee (5-4, 5-4 SEC) during the academic year and it was the Lady Vols’ third consecutive victory dating back to the fall portion of the campaign.

Four UT players posted double figures in kills against Missouri (8-4, 8-4).

Lily Felts, a Knoxville product and Berean Christian School graduate, had 16 kills. Danielle Mahaffey chipped in with 15 kills. Jasmine Brooks added 14 and Morghan Fingall finished with 13.

Felts had a double-double for the Lady Vols as she had 18 digs.

Fingall had four blocks, while Brooks and Mahaffey had two each for the Lady Vols.

Tennessee and the Tigers will close out their 2-game series today at 6:30 p.m. EST at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Gators News: Florida athletics pushes forward despite COVID-19

Today, we have a loaded plate filled up with a recap and preview for today’s competition, as well as some bad news.

Wading into the thick of February we find ourselves immersed in Gators sports — at least when the coronavirus pandemic is not spoiling our fun. Today, we have a loaded plate filled up with a recap from last night and previews for today’s competition, as well as some bad news. But first, the good stuff.

Yesterday, the No. 9 volleyball team returned from a coronavirus layoff with a 3-0 straight-set sweep of the LSU Tigers in the O’Connell Center. Florida brought a balanced attack to improve to 9-2 in their SEC-only schedule, while LSU drops to 3-6 on the year. The two will tangle again on the O’Dome court tonight for the second match of the back-to-back, with first serve slated for 6 p.m. EST on SEC Network+ and can be heard on FloridaGators.com.

Two other teams will also be in action today, starting with the No. 22 women’s tennis team traveling to Tampa to take on the USF Bulls for their 55th meeting all-time. First serve is set for 2 p.m. EST at the USF Varsity Tennis Court as Florida looks to snap its three-match losing streak.

Tonight, the women’s basketball team much like the volleyball squad will face LSU, except these Lady Gators will travel to Baton Rouge for their first game in 11 days — their longest layoff of the season. Also much like their parquet compadres, the layoff was a result of COVID-19 precautions. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST and will be streamed live on SEC Network+.

Finally, the bad news: the men’s basketball team has postponed its upcoming game against the Texas A&M Aggies this coming Saturday has been postponed due to COVID-19. This is the third-straight game obstructed by the virus for the men’s team, and with no make-up date yet determined, it is getting harder and harder to envision this squad playing out its full schedule.

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Gators News: Women’s tennis falls again, volleyball on tap tonight

UF had one team in action yesterday and another today, while a third sits out due to the coronavirus, plus there are some awards to hand out

We have reached the middle of another week and on this humpday the Florida athletics program had one team in action yesterday and another today, while a third sits out due to the coronavirus, plus there are some awards to hand out. Let us take a look at what is happening today around the Gator Nation.

First off, the No. 21 women’s tennis team fell once again to the No. 22 UCF Knights for the second time in two weeks, this time at home by a 4-1 decision. The Lady Gators dropped their third-straight contest — just the fourth three-match losing streak in the history of the program.

Tonight, the No. 9 volleyball team takes the court for the first time since their back-to-backs with the Missouri Tigers was postponed last weekend against the LSU Tigers. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. EST in the O’Connell Center, can be watched on SEC Network+ and can be heard on 98.1 FM/850 AM.

As previously noted, the men’s basketball team will not take the floor against the Tennessee Volunteers tonight due to COVID-19. No makeup date has been announced yet.

Finally, three members of Florida’s track and field team earned SEC honors this week: Senior thrower Thomas Mardal was named SEC Men’s Field Athlete of the Week, sophomore sprinter Joseph Fahnbulleh earned SEC Men’s Co-Runner of the Week honors and newcomer Talitha Diggs was tabbed SEC Women’s Freshman of the Week.

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Gators News: Track and field, cross country, volleyball and basketball on tap

Friday is finally here and with the end of the week nearing Florida’s sports programs are getting warmed up for a weekend of action.

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Friday is finally here and with the end of the week nearing the University of Florida’s sports programs are getting warmed up for a weekend of athletics action. But first, the results from yesterday’s competition.

The No. 21 women’s tennis team took on the No. 8 Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee yesterday and was unable to seize the win, falling 4-1 for their second loss of the season. Freshman Sara Dahlstrom won her second dual match win in three tries but it wasn’t enough and ultimately the Gators fell to 56-5 all-time against the Seminoles.

Speaking of Tallahassee, today Florida’s cross country team travels to the state capitol for their first meet of the 2021 season in the FSU Winter XC Classic. The men’s team will run an 8,000-meter (8k) race at 9 a.m. EST followed by the women’s 6k competition at 9:30 a.m. EST.

Also on Friday and continuing into tomorrow, the track and field team travels back to Columbia, South Carolina, to compete in this year’s South Carolina Invitational inside the Carolina Indoor Track and Field Complex for their second meet of the season. Saturday’s competition will be streamed live on SEC Network+ beginning at 11 a.m. ET, and it can be watched here.

Saturday, the No. 23 men’s’ basketball team looks to bounce back from a disappointing home loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks against the LSU Tigers on the road. Florida took the first meeting of the season, 73-69, and will need to take the yearly series to remain ranked in the top 25. Tip off is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST and can be watched on ESPN, streamed on the ESPN app and can be heard on Gators Sports Network | XM 382.

Later on in the day, the No. 10 volleyball team hosts the No. 16 Missouri Tigers in the O’Connell Center starting at 8 p.m. EST. Both teams are 8-2 in their SEC-only schedules entering the weekend, with the two schools playing back-to-backs on Saturday and Sunday — the latter is slated to begin at 7 p.m. EST.

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Gators News: Veritable cornucopia of Gators sports on tap this weekend

Starting tonight and extending into the weekend, there is no shortage of UF athletics to keep the Gator Nation entertained.

The end of the week is finally here, which means it is time for some Florida sports! And believe me, starting tonight and extending into the weekend, there is no shortage of UF athletics to keep the Gator Nation entertained. There is little time to waste, so let us jump right in.

Starting with last night’s results, the women’s basketball team (9-7, 2-6 SEC) stumbled against the Missouri Tigers (6-5, 2-4 SEC) at home, 61-58. It was a hard-fought match that saw sophomore guard Lavender Briggs notch her third double-double of the season and 10th of her career, scoring a game-high 19 points to go with 11 rebounds.

Today features the most action with four programs in playing, starting with the 10th ranked volleyball team (6-2, 6-2 SEC) who kick off their spring season at 3 p.m. EST on the road against the Ole Miss Rebels (0-6, 0-6 SEC). The match can be watched on SEC Network+ heard on 98.1 FM/850 AM. The two squads meet again on Saturday for another 3 p.m. ET start and can be watched and heard on the same sources.

Also starting at 3 p.m. EST on Friday is the No. 21 women’s tennis team’s match with the No. 22 UCF Knights on the road in Lake Nona. The Lady Gators swept their first match of 2021 against the Florida Atlantic Owls and look to continue their winning ways. Then at 5 p.m. EST the No. 11 men take the court against No. 19 UCF as well, with the Gators entering with a 3-1 record while the Knights play in their first match of the season.

Tonight, the top-ranked gymnastics team (3-0, 3-0 SEC) hosts the Missouri Tigers (0-3, 0-2 SEC) in the O’Connell Center as the squad looks to maintain its perch atop the nation’s rankings. The match comes on the heels of roommates Savannah Schoenherr and Megan Skaggs earning SEC Weekly honors. The events will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

On Saturday, the men’s basketball (9-4, 6-3 SEC) team heads to Morgantown, W.V., to take on the No. 11 West Virginia Mountaineers (11-4, 4-3 Big 12)  for the SEC-Big 12 Challenge. Game time is set for 2 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on ESPN, streamed on the ESPN app and heard on the Gators Sports Network.

Finally, on Sunday, the men’s tennis team travels to Tallahassee to take on the No. 25 Florida State Seminoles, with first serve scheduled for 2 p.m. EST. Then last, but not least, we come back full circle to the Lady Gators basketball squad, who look to resume their winning ways against the No. 20 Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville, with tip off also scheduled for 2 p.m. EST.

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SEC announces spring volleyball schedule

SEC announces spring portion of league volleyball schedule.

The Southeaster Conference has announced its spring volleyball schedule.

The conference’s 13 teams began the season during the fall with an eight-game league schedule.

In the spring, SEC teams will again play eight conference matches and the league will once again have a make-up week should matches get canceled.

The Lady Vols will return to campus in January and they will play their first matches on Feb. 6-7 at Texas A&M.

Tennessee and the Aggies played eight matches, both going 4-4 in the fall season, which began in October.

The Lady Vols will open the spring portion of its home schedule when they host No. 8 Missouri Feb. 12.

Tennessee will also have home matches against No. 7 Florida, Mississipi State and LSU.

All home matches will be played at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Julie Wittekind to join volleyball team in January

Julie Wittekind will join the UT volleyball team as early enrollee during the spring 2021 semester.

Julie Wittekind will join Tennessee’s volleyball team in January when she arrives on campus after graduating early.

She will also enroll early at UT and can practice for the Lady Vols, but is not eligible to play for Tennessee in its 2021 spring matches.

Wittekind, a native of Cincinnati, is a libero and defensive specialist. She will look to add depth to Tennessee’s back row.

Wittekind played her high school volleyball at Turpin High School, where she was the team’s Most Valuable Player and a scholar athlete.

She finished her prep career with 841 career digs, and was an all-conference player as a high school senior and received an Honorable Mention to the All-State Team.

Gators News: A few fall sports wrap up with big wins

Florida Gators volleyball team, as well as both men’s and women’s swimming and diving, emerged victorious from their final weekend of play.

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Florida Gators football continued its winning ways on Saturday with a win over the cellar-dwelling Vanderbilt Commodores. The victory was anything but convincing, leaving many questions for the fanbase after the defense looked about as porous as an ocean sponge again.

In other Gators sports news, the fifth-ranked men’s swimming and diving team finished the fall swimming season with a bang, securing a 521-426 victory over the Auburn Tigers in the Auburn Invitational, which ran from Friday until Sunday. With the swimming portion of the schedule now over for 2020, the divers head to Coral Gables to compete in a three-day diving tournament hosted by the Miami Hurricanes on Dec. 2-4 to wrap up the year.

The No. 10 women’s swimming and diving team also competed in the Auburn Invitational, claiming a 508-421 victory over the Tigers. Much like the men, the women’s swimming season is over and the diving team will head to South Florida for its next and final competition.

The volleyball team also concluded its season yesterday against the Georgia Bulldogs in a back-to-back meet, dropping the Saturday match by a score of 3-1 while bouncing back on Sunday to flip UGA and finish the year with a 3-1 win. Fifth-ranked Florida finishes its SEC-only fall schedule with a 6-2 record and now await the release of the spring slate.

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Gators News: Four Florida fall sports ranked in top 10

Both of Florida’s swimming & diving teams sit in first place entering the final day while the volleyball team prepares for its final weekend

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We are just a day away from the big game between the Florida Gators and the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville, Tenn. While Vandy does not strike fear in the hearts of most football fans, every game counts and on any given day anything can happen. But there is a lot more happening than the ol’ pigskin game that brings pride to the Gator Nation.

Four Florida athletic teams currently sit in the top 10 of their respective sports, with men’s swimming and diving as well as volleyball at No 5, football at No. 6, and women’s swimming and diving at No. 10.

Speaking of the men’s aquatic team, the swimmers swept all of their events and the Gators finished up with seven total event victories to lead the pack at the Auburn Invitational. Meanwhile, the women also fared well at the same competition, with freshman Cecilia Porter shattering the 100 breast school record by .33 seconds to give the Lady Gators the overall lead heading into the final day. The event competition as well as dual meets for the fall conclude today.

Finally, there is the volleyball team (5-1, 5-1 SEC), which has had quite a successful season heading into their last two matches of the year on their home floor against the Georgia Bulldogs (3-3, 3-3 SEC) tonight. UF holds a 66-9 series advantage over UGA, sporting a dominating 63-1 record with coach Mary Wise at the helm.

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Lady Vols take two volleyball matches at Auburn

Lady Vols close season with two wins at Auburn.

The University of Tennessee volleyball team closed out the fall portion of its schedule on a high note Thursday night at Auburn.

The Lady Vols completed a two-match sweep of the Tigers, as they prevailed in straight sets, 25-20, 25-12, 25-14.

Lily Felts, a Knoxville product and Berean Christian School graduate had 13 kills in the match.

Danielle Mahaffey finished with 10 kills, while Natalie Haywrd dished out 29 assists and posted three kills.

The victory was Tennessee’s third consecutive sweep of the Tigers, who finished the season with a record of 0-8, 0-8 SEC.

The win helped Tennessee even its record (4-4, 4-4 SEC), while playing a Southeastern Conference-only schedule.

UT opened the week by notching a 25-20, 25-17, 25-19 win over the Tigers Wednesday night.

Felts, a junior, finished Wednesday’s match with 18 kills and 10 digs. Ava Bell and Mahaffey each had eight kills, while Raquel Berinar added seven kills and led the Lady Vols with three blocks.

Maryville High graduate Madison Coulter and JaKya Moore each dished out three assists in the match for Tennessee.