| Florida Gators women's volleyball | |
| University: | University of Florida |
| Conference: | Southeastern Conference |
| Conference Short: | SEC |
| City: | Gainesville |
| Stateabb: | FL |
| State: | Florida |
| Coach: | Mary Wise |
| Tenure: | 33rd |
| Arena: | Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center |
| Capacity: | 10,136[1] |
| Nickname: | Florida Gators |
| Ncaarunnerup: | 2003, 2017 |
| Ncaatourneys: | 1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 |
| Ncaafinalfour: | 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2017 |
| Conference Tournament: | 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005 |
| Conference Season: | 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 |
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 Athletics 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 Mary Wise.
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.[2]
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 their 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.[3]
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, only have three seniors on the team.[4]
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.[5]
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 coach to coach in a championship match. In addition, Florida set a then-NCAA record of 105 straight games won during the 2003 season.
The Florida Gators opened the 2017 beating #1 Texas and #5 Nebraska in the opening weekend. They would eventually become the #1 ranked team...their first since 2010. The Gators finished the season 30-2 and reached their second final...falling to Nebraska 3–1. Rhamat Alhassan (1st Team), Carli Snyder (2nd Team), Shainah Joseph (2nd Team), and Rachael Kramer (3rd Team) would give Florida their highest total class of All-Americans in a single year in school history. Additionally, Mary Wise garnered the 2017 AVCA Coach of the Year for her third time....the second highest total in the award's history.[6]
In 2023, the program's attendance record was set at 10,323 in attendance at the O'Connell Center when the 3rd ranked Gators played #1 Wisconsin. This also set the record for the highest attended volleyball match hosted by an SEC school and the highest on-campus volleyball match in the state of Florida.[7]
| Year | Head Coach | Overall record | Conference record | Conference standing | Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Marilyn McReavy | 16–16 | 1–5 | 5th | – |
| 1985 | Marilyn McReavy | 33–13 | 4–2 | 3rd | – |
| 1986 | Marilyn McReavy | 15–23 | 4–2 | 3rd | – |
| 1987 | Marilyn McReavy | 37–6 | 5–2 | 3rd | NCAA Regional semifinal |
| 1988 | Marilyn McReavy | 23–14 | 5–2 | 2nd | – |
| 1989 | Marilyn McReavy | 17–12 | 3–5 | 6th | – |
| 1990 | Marilyn McReavy | 15–16 | 4–4 | 3rd | – |
| 1991 | Mary Wise | 35–5 | 13–1 | 1st | NCAA Regional Final |
| 1992 | Mary Wise | 34–2 | 14–0 | 1st | NCAA Final Four |
| 1993 | Mary Wise | 33–4 | 14–0 | 1st | NCAA Final Four |
| 1994 | Mary Wise | 28–6 | 13–1 | 1st | NCAA Regional semifinal |
| 1995 | Mary Wise | 35–2 | 14–0 | 1st | NCAA Regional Final |
| 1996 | Mary Wise | 37–2 | 14–0 | 1st | NCAA Final Four |
| 1997 | Mary Wise | 34–4 | 14–0 | 1st | NCAA Final Four |
| 1998 | Mary Wise | 35–3 | 14–0 | 1st | NCAA Final Four |
| 1999 | Mary Wise | 33–3 | 14–0 | 1st | NCAA Regional Final |
| 2000 | Mary Wise | 29–5 | 14–0 | 1st | NCAA Regional semifinal |
| 2001 | Mary Wise | 28–2 | 14–0 | 1st | NCAA Regional Final |
| 2002 | Mary Wise | 34–3 | 16–0 | 1st | NCAA Final Four |
| 2003 | Mary Wise | 36–2 | 16–0 | 1st | NCAA Runners-Up |
| 2004 | Mary Wise | 28–5 | 15–1 | 1st | NCAA Second Round |
| 2005 | Mary Wise | 33–3 | 15–1 | 1st | NCAA Regional Final |
| 2006 | Mary Wise | 30–3 | 19–1 | 1st | NCAA Regional Final |
| 2007 | Mary Wise | 29–3 | 19–1 | 1st | NCAA Regional semifinal |
| 2008 | Mary Wise | 27–4 | 18–2 | 1st | NCAA Regional semifinal |
| 2009 | Mary Wise | 26-7 | 16–4 | 3rd | NCAA Regional semifinal |
| 2010 | Mary Wise | 29–2 | 20–0 | 1st | NCAA Regional semifinal |
| 2011 | Mary Wise | 27–6 | 17–3 | 2nd | NCAA Regional Final |
| 2012 | Mary Wise | 27–5 | 19–1 | 1st | NCAA Regional semifinal |
| 2013 | Mary Wise | 28–4 | 16–2 | 2nd | NCAA Second Round |
| 2014 | Mary Wise | 28–4 | 18–0 | 1st | NCAA Regional Final |
| 2015 | Mary Wise | 25–7 | 13–5 | 4th | NCAA Regional Final |
| 2016 | Mary Wise | 27–4 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA Second Round |
| 2017 | Mary Wise | 30–2 | 17–1 | 1st | NCAA Championship Final |
| 2018 | Mary Wise | 26–7 | 15–3 | 3rd | NCAA Regional semifinal |
| 2019 | Mary Wise | 27-5 | 16-2 | 1st | NCAA Regional semifinal |
| 2020 | Mary Wise | 21-4 | 19-3 | 2nd | NCAA Regional Final |
| 2021 | Mary Wise | 22-9 | 14-4 | 3rd | NCAA Regional Semifinal |
| 2022 | Mary Wise | 25-6 | 15-3 | 1st | NCAA Regional Semifinal |
| Total | 1101–233 | 527-63 | |||
Florida has 12 players selected SEC player of the year for a total of 18 awards.[8]
Florida has 6 recipients of the Freshman of the Year award.[10]
Florida has 1 recipient of the Libero of the Year award. The award for Libero of the Year began in 2009.[11]
Florida has 1 recipient of the Coach of the Year award for a total of 11 awards.[12]
Florida has 3 recipients of the Scholar Athlete of the Year award. The award for Scholar Athlete of the Year began in 2003[13]
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[14]
Florida has 32 AVCA All-America selections, tenth all-time in NCAA Division I, and 13[15] First Team selections, tied for tenth all-time.[16]
Nine players have earned twelve AVCA Division I National Player of the Week award: