Williams is also all about winning. Counting her
redshirt year, she's got four SEC championship rings
with the chance for that rare one for the thumb.
The Gators ensured that Williams will have that full
set of rings Friday evening with a sweep (30-18,
30-22, 30-18 ) of South Carolina at the O'Connell
Center. Florida's win clinched a tie for the
Southeastern Conference championship. Coach Mary
Wise's Gators (23-2, 15-0 in the SEC) can win the
title free and clear Sunday afternoon when they face
Tennessee at the O'Dome.
Williams had put together one of her more dominating
performances of the season with a season high 10 kills
in 15 attacks at the net to go with three blocks. In
addition to the three blocks that accounted for
points, she continually stifled the South Carolina
attack at the net with one deflection after another.
By the time the Gators got to match point, the evening
turned truly memorable for the 6-2 senior.
Williams has played strictly on the front line all
season. When the rotation takes her to the back row,
the Gators bring in a defensive/serving specialist,
but this time instead of a sub, Wise put the ball in
Williams hands to serve.
"That was kind of cool," said Williams, who served the
final point of the evening to set off a short
celebration by the Gators who knew that they'd
clinched at least a share of the conference title. "I
didn't expect to be serving, but Mary said you have to
stay in there and serve. That it was match point for
the conference championship says that she (Mary)
trusts me and that says it all right there."
Wise said that having Williams back there to serve
made the win special.
"That's something I'll never forget," said the Gator
coach. "I'll always remember that on Sherri Williams
one and only serve of the year, we clinched the
conference championship. What a great way to put a
stamp on your senior year!"
Florida was never seriously challenged by the
Gamecocks (12-12, 5-10 SEC). The Gators got an 8-0 run
in game one with freshman Marcie Hampton serving, got
a 7-0 service run with Lauren Moscovic in game two and
in game three, Michelle Chatman got an 8-0 service run
that included four aces.
"You have to win the serving and passing battle
against South Carolina or else they're a lot of
trouble," said Wise. "The low number of service errors
(five in three games) made this a great serving night
and it set the tone for us."
Florida didn't hit for a particularly high percentage
(.312), but the Gator defense was outstanding, forcing
South Carolina to hit a dismal .067, doubling the
Gators in hitting errors, 28-14.
In addition to Williams and Chatman providing an
overpowering presence on the front line, Florida got
great back line defense from Lauren Moscovic, Hampton
and Jane Collymore. The match featured some long
rallies for points in all three games, the kind of
match that played perfectly to the hustle and
intensity of Moscovic who just wouldn't let the ball
hit the floor.
"If you talk to Lauren, she'll tell you she's having
more fun than she ever had when she was our setter,"
said Wise of the senior from Stockton, California who
was Florida's setter on two Final Four teams. "Now
that she's concentrating on her defense and serving
without having all the things you have to do when you
set, she can use her athleticism to be relentless on
the back row. You don't always see it in the stats
what she does for us back there, but her play is
critical to our success."
Collymore finished the game with 13 kills to lead the
Gators while Williams had 10 and Hampton nine. Rachel
Engel had a game high 12 digs while Hampton had nine
and Collymore eight. Freshman setter Angie McGinnis
had a match high 37 assists.
The win gave the Gators 145 straight regular season
conference victories and 120 overall conference wins
in a row, extending their NCAA records in both areas.
To extend the record to 146 Sunday would be special
because by beating Tennessee, it would ensure that
Florida is the outright SEC champion.
"I want it all," said Williams. "I don't want to have
the word co-champions on this ring. I'm selfish when
it comes to this and I'm not into sharing."
The Tennessee match will be the Gators third in five
days, but Wise isn't worried about her team feeling
tired.
"The shape that our players are in, you can't get
there overnight," said Wise. "What they did in the
summer and all the way back to last January is showing
now. They've bought into the nutrition and year-round
conditioning. It's all a tribute to our strength and
conditioning coach (Matt Delancey). There's no
question that he's one of the very best guys in the
business.
"We're going to have to be so ready physically Sunday
against Tennessee, but I have so much confidence in
what Matt does, so I think we'll be ready for the
challenge. This is going to be so good for the SEC to
have the two best teams in the conference playing for
the championship on the last day!"