No. 2 Florida Gators Fall To No. 5 Nebraska In Volleyball National Championship

By  //  December 17, 2017

Florida Finishes 2017 season 30-2

The Gators finish the 2017 season with a 30-2 overall record, the program’s 23rd Southeastern Conference title, and their eighth all-time NCAA Semifinals appearance—which was their first since 2003. (Florida Gators Image)

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI (Florida Gators) – Florida volleyball’s journey for its first national title will continue in 2018, as the Gators fell to fifth-seeded Nebraska, 3-1, in the program’s second NCAA Championship appearance Saturday night inside the Sprint Center.

The Gators finish the 2017 season with a 30-2 overall record, the program’s 23rd Southeastern Conference title, and their eighth all-time NCAA Semifinals appearance—which was their first since 2003.

This was the 15th time in program history and 13th time in head coach Mary Wise’s 27-year tenure Florida won at least 30 matches in a season. Florida’s last 30-win campaign came in 2006.

Florida’s offense never got in rhythm in either of the first two sets, and even after hitting .308 with just two errors in the third, what momentum it gained was lost after a 10-2 Nebraska run to open the fourth.

The Gators finished the match with 22 attack errors—which was their third-highest total of the year—and a season-low .141 hitting percentage.

Second-team All-Americans Shainah Joseph and Carli Snyder led the Gators with 11 kills apiece, while four-time All-American Rhamat Alhassan had a team-high five blocks, giving her 194 for the year and leaving her one shy of tying the single-season record set by Nina Foster in 1997.

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Snyder also had a match-high 15 digs.

Alhassan and Snyder were named to the All-Tournament Team

NOTABLES

– The Gators’ all-time NCAA Tournament record falls to 71-28 (.717) and to 24-7 overall as an overall top-four seed

– Mary Wise remains the only female head coach in Division I history to lead a team to the NCAA Championship match

– Wise’s 70 all-time NCAA Tournament victories remain the seventh-most in Division I history

– Florida’s 71 all-time NCAA Tournament wins remain the eighth-most in Division I history

– The Gators’ all-time record against Nebraska falls to 3-9 and drops to 0-3 in NCAA Tournament matches

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