Gainesville, Fla. –  For the third time in four seasons, Alabama State will travel to Gainesville, Fla., and take on Florida in the first round of the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT.
 
Florida earned the No. 10 overall seed and the hosting right for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Joining Alabama State at Florida are Florida State and UCF. The game will be broadcast live on the SEC Network Plus.
 
Four-Peat SWAC Champions
Alabama State earned its way into the NCAA Tournament with a dominating 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-20) win over Prairie View A&M on Nov. 24 to collect its fourth consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference volleyball championship.
 
SWAC Tournament Most Valuable Player and All-Tournament selection Bayle' Bennett led the way with her 17th double double of the season with a match-high 16 kills (.256) and 11 digs while also adding on two assists and a block.
 
Fellow classmate Krysta Medearis added eight kills in the contest and landed on the All-Tournament team as well. After the win, head coach Penny Lucas-White was named the SWAC Coach of the Year.
 
On the season, Bennett leads the way with 424 total kills averaging 3.07 per set alongside the second-most digs (357, 2.59/set) and service aces (37) on the team. Medearis follows behind with 360 kills on a .259 hitting percentage with the second-most blocks on the team at 69 including 16 solos.
 
Young poses as an all-around threat as she has 292 kills with a blistering .359 hitting percentage, 27 service aces, 93 digs and a team-high 92 blocks including 28 solos.
 
Defensively, Belles leads the team with 502 digs (3.83/set) while also leading the team in service aces with 39. Boland paces the offense with 869 assists averaging 6.49/set.
 
Scouting Florida
No. 12 Florida Gators beat Texas A&M, 3-2 (25-17, 19-25, 25-18, 22-25, 15-13) to earn its 24th Southeastern Conference Championship on Saturday.
 
The Gators were led on the offense front by Thayer Hall, who posted 16 kills in the match. Rachael Kramer added 13, while Lauren Dooley pitched in 10 kills of her own. Marlie Monserez dished out 40 assists in the match.
 
As a squad, Florida notched 10.0 blocks, led by a team-high five from Dooley. Holly Carlton registered four blocks, while Kramer added three in the match. The backcourt defense was paced by Allie Gregory, who posted a career-high 25digs on her Senior Night.
 
On the season, Hall leads the team with 399 kills, averaging 3.76 per set with a .251 hitting percentage. Additionally, she holds the second-most digs on the team (263), second on the team in service aces (33) and has 55 blocks including 17 solos.
 
Monserez paces the offense with 1,078 assists averaging 10.17 per set. Four Gators have more than 200 digs led by Gregory with 438 (4.13/set). Five Florida players have collected more than 50 blocks on the season, Dooley leads the way with 99 (eight solos) followed by Kramer with 88 (14 solos).
 
Last Time Against Florida
Alabama State fell to second-seeded Florida 3-0 (25-9, 25-13, 25-9) at the Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center in the opening round of the NCAA Volleyball Championship on Nov. 30, 2017.
 
Bayle' Bennett led the Lady Hornets with five kills, while Krysta Medearis added four in the opening round loss. The duo combined for nine of the 17 kills on the night, with the team being held to -.014 hitting by Florida – the second best team in the country in opponent hitting percentage.
 
Justus Tuiolosega finished the night with 10 assists and seven digs, while Kayla Torres added five and Bennett 4.
 
Ticket Information
Tickets for the NCAA First & Second Rounds are now on sale (follow this link for purchasing) and at the Gator Ticket Office, located between Gates 1 & 2 of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The general public can begin purchasing general admission tickets at 7:30 a.m. CT Monday, while reserved tickets go on sale Tuesday at 8 a.m. CT.
 
All-Session Tickets

• Reserved Seating – $15
• Adult General Admission – $12
• Child General Admission (12 & U) – $8
• Loge Seats – $30
• Courtside Seats – $40

 
Single-Match Tickets

• Reserved Seating – $10
• Adult General Admission – $8
• Child General Admission (12 & U) – $5

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