The Florida Gators women's volleyball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of volleyball. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gators play their home matches in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, and are currently led by head coach Ryan Theis.
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History
The University of Florida's athletic department, the University Athletic Association, authorized the first intercollegiate varsity women's volleyball team to begin play in the fall of 1984. Marilyn McReavy was the Gators' first head coach, and she led the Gators volleyball team for seven seasons from 1984 to 1990. McReavy's Gators compiled an overall win–loss record of 156–100 (.609), and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 26–20 (.565). Her best SEC finish was second place in 1988, and her 1987 team was the only one that qualified for the NCAA tournament. McReavy resigned after a 15–16 performance in 1990.
Coach Mary Wise was hired to replace Marilyn McReavy in 1991. In their first year under Wise, the Gators won the SEC regular season championship, sharing it with the LSU Tigers volleyball team.
In 1992, Florida made its first ever NCAA Final Four appearance, where they lost in the semifinals to eventual national runner-up UCLA 15–12, 15–12, 15–10.
In 1993, Wise became the first Division I female head coach to guide her team to more than one final four. In 1996, the Gators made the trip to their third final four in five years, losing to Hawaiʻi in the semifinals. Wise was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I National Coach of the Year.
In 1997, the Gators appeared in the final four once again, being swept by Penn State in the semifinals. The roster consisted of a young squad, with only three seniors on the team.
The Gators made their third consecutive final four in 1998, where they again lost in the semifinals, to eventual national champion and undefeated Long Beach State, 15–2, 15–8, 15–10.
In 2002, Florida made their first final four appearance since 1998, defeating Temple in the Sweet 16 and Penn State in the Elite Eight, before falling to eventual national champion Southern California in the semifinals.
After being 0-for-6 in previous NCAA Final Four semifinals, Florida broke through in 2003, by defeating Hawaii in the semis, 30–28, 30–28, 23–30, 30–28. Appearing in their first NCAA title match in school history, the Gators lost to undefeated Southern California in four sets, 25–30, 30–27, 30–19, 30–26. Wise became the first Division I female head coach to coach in a championship match. In addition, Florida set a then-NCAA record of 105 straight games won during the 2003 season.
Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference Players of the Year
Florida has 12 players selected SEC player of the year for a total of 18 awards.
Gudula Staub, 1992
Aycan Gokberk, 1993, 1995
Jenny Wood, 1996
Nina Foster, 1997
Jenny Manz, 1998, 1999
Nicole McCray, 2000
Aury Cruz, 2001, 2002, 2003
Jane Collymore, 2004, 2005
Angie McGinnis, 2006, 2007
Kelly Murphy, 2010
Chloe Mann, 2012
Alex Holston, 2014
Rhamat Alhassan, 2017
Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year
Florida has 6 recipients of the Freshman of the Year award.
Aury Cruz, 2000
Angie McGinnis, 2004
Kelly Murphy, 2008
Ziva Recek, 2012
Rhamat Alhassan, 2014
Alexis Stucky, 2022
Jaela Auguste, 2024
Southeastern Conference Libero of the Year
Florida has 1 recipient of the Libero of the Year award. The award for Libero of the Year began in 2009.
Taylor Unroe, 2013
Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year
Florida has 1 recipient of the Coach of the Year award for a total of 11 awards.
Mary Wise, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2017
Southeastern Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year
Florida has 3 recipients of the Scholar Athlete of the Year award. The award for Scholar Athlete of the Year began in 2003
Kelsey Bowers, 2008
Kristy Jaeckel, 2011
Holly Pole, 2014
Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year
Florida has 1 recipient of the Defensive Player of the Year award. The award for Defensive Player of the Year began in 2003 and ended in 2008
Elyse Cusack, 2006
American Volleyball Coaches Association
All-Americans
Florida has 32 AVCA All-America selections, tenth all-time in NCAA Division I, and 13 First Team selections, tied for tenth all-time.
National awards
Mary Wise, National Coach of the Year: 1992, 1996, 2017
Kelly Murphy, National Freshman of the Year: 2008
Ziva Recek, National Freshman of the Year: 2012
Nine players have earned twelve AVCA Division I National Player of the Week award:
Aycan Gokberk (Sept. 11, 1995 and Oct. 30, 1995)
Nina Foster (Sept. 1, 1997)
Jenny Manz (Sept. 7, 1998)
Heather Wright (Nov. 23, 1998)
Nicole McCray (Sept. 4, 2000)
Elyse Cusack (Nov. 6, 2006)
Kelly Murphy (Sept. 30, 2008; Aug. 21, 2010; and Sept. 20 2011)
Kristy Jaeckel (Oct. 4, 2011)
Rhamat Alhassan (Sept. 16, 2014)
Rachael Kramer (Aug. 29th, 2017)