GAINESVILLE – The Alabama State women's volleyball team is no longer the fresh face in the 64-team field of the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament.

As the Lady Hornets have become more and more acclimated to the playing styles of NCAA Tournament opponents and the larger scale atmospheres that accompany them, the Alabama State program has raised expectations. 

Earlier this season, Alabama State played against three other teams who are also in the field of 64 including No. 11 Arizona, Alabama and Murray State. 

Last season, it played at the University of Washington, a team that has nestled itself as a top-three ranked team each of the last two seasons. 

Now, the Lady Hornets (20-18) will take on No. 8 nationally-ranked Florida (25-3) on their home floor at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Friday at 6 p.m. CT. in a first round match of the NCAA Tournament.

"We expect more from ourselves," said Lady Hornets' women's volleyball coach Penny Lucas-White.

"Our kids expect to be able to compete and we're getting to a point where we can take more points in a set [against the top teams in the country].  The next goal is to win a set.  We're no longer newbies.  The girls are focused.  They'll watch video with me and ask questions.  They want to know what it's going to take to win.  They will ask, 'What's our game plan?'  That makes me confident as a coach with the intent to make a difference."

The meeting between Alabama State and Florida will be a first time meeting between the schools. 

Both are coming in hot.  Alabama State has won 16 of its' past 19 games while Florida is riding a 20-game winning streak. 

Each team went undefeated in their conference this season with the Lady Hornets running an 8-0 record in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, while the Gators went 18-0 in Southeastern Conference play. 

Prior to their match up, UCF and Miami kick off the Gainesville sub-regional at 4:30 p.m./3:30 central Friday.

The winners of each first-round match square off Saturday at 7 p.m. for a shot to advance to the Ames, Iowa, Regional site at Hilton Coliseum Dec. 12-13.

The Gators and Lady Hornets will stream live on SEC Network + and also on WatchESPN online by clicking here:http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/id/2256537/alabama-state-vs-florida-first-round.

Listen live on ESPN 850 AM Gainesville by clicking here:  http://www.wruf.com/stream-player/ and follow live stats here:  http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=73633

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