FAMU to face No. 16 overall seed Florida in NCAA volleyball tournament

Florida A&M volleyball is NCAA tournament bound.

The Rattlers (25-6) - winners of the SWAC - earned an automatic bid for clinching their league title last week. They'll face No. 16 overall seed Florida (20-8) in Gainesville at the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Florida was awarded the host site for the first and second rounds. Joining the Gators and Rattlers are Miami and South Alabama.

This marks the first time FAMU is playing for a national title since 2013.

"It's been a great season and we're not done yet. We knew we'd be going to Georgia Tech or Florida. It's going to be a fun game," FAMU volleyball head coach Gokhan Yilmaz said.

"We've been practicing very well. The mentality and physicality is a big improvement. This is a great start and hopefully, it will be an annual thing."

FAMU volleyball players react to hearing the Rattlers will travel to Gainesville to face Florida in the NCAA tournament during a watch party at the Hyatt House on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021.
FAMU volleyball players react to hearing the Rattlers will travel to Gainesville to face Florida in the NCAA tournament during a watch party at the Hyatt House on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021.

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FAMU hosted a watch party for the selection show on Sunday at the Hyatt House.

Officials in attendance with the team included President Larry Robinson, Vice President/Director of Athletics Kortne Gosha, Deputy Director of Athletics/Chief of Staff Keith McCluney, Associate Athletic Director for Administration and Operations Michael Johnson and Carrie Hickey Tollison, Interim Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Success and Competitive Excellence.

Robinson addressed the team and publicly praised them for winning the SWAC and advancing to the national tournament.

"Congradulation on an outstanding season. I don't know if you've been following me on Twitter. I've been calling you the 'Sweep Sisters.' You have 18 sweeps," Robinson said during his remarks.

"You won the SWAC which was very impressive. It's another day on the job. Go down there and take care of your business. I'm going to have to change our chant and say the Rattlers will spike, spike and spike again."

FAMU is 1-1 against teams in the 64-field NCAA tournament.

It lost 3-0 to South Alabama in the season opener on Aug. 27. The Rattlers later were victorious against Campbell 3-1 on Sept. 10.

South Alabama won the Sun Belt Conference and Campbell clinched the Big South title.

2021 volleyball highlight reel

It's been a historic ride for the volleyball program in 2021.

On Sept. 17, FAMU went to Auburn and beat the Tigers 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-21, 15-11).

FAMU players celebrate winning a set versus Auburn in the Auburn Invitational. The Rattlers beat the Tigers 3-2 on Friday, Sept. 17, 2021 in Auburn, Ala.
FAMU players celebrate winning a set versus Auburn in the Auburn Invitational. The Rattlers beat the Tigers 3-2 on Friday, Sept. 17, 2021 in Auburn, Ala.

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The following week on Sept. 25, it recorded the first-ever win for the university as a member of the SWAC with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-11, 25-15) victory at Mississippi Valley State.

FAMU defeated Jackson State 3-2 (25-20, 26-28, 23-25, 25-23, 15-13) on Nov. 21 to win the SWAC tournament.

Multiple Rattlers received conference honors led by Dominique Washington. The grad student transfer from Georgia Tech was First-Team All-SWAC, Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Tournament MVP.

She ranks fifth in the country with 5.06 kills and sixth with 5.61 points per set.

"I'm excited to go down to Gainesville as a team. We're going to bring all of our energy. We're focused on what we can do and it will be a great match. We've done so much and we have more to give," Washington said.

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Florida finished third in the SEC behind conference champion Kentucky and the runner-up, Mississippi State.

T'ara Ceasar, Lauren Forte, Thayer Hall and Marlie Monserez were named to the All-SEC Team. Merritt Beason and Bre Kelley were SEC All-Freshman selections.

The Gators won nine straight matches from Oct. 16-Nov. 21. Their streak was snapped with two consecutive losses to Kentucky.

FAMU libero Jessa Long takes a selfie of the team upon hearing the news of their matchup in the NCAA volleyball tournament during a selection show watch party at the Hyatt House on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021.
FAMU libero Jessa Long takes a selfie of the team upon hearing the news of their matchup in the NCAA volleyball tournament during a selection show watch party at the Hyatt House on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021.

FAMU will hit the road on Thursday in prep for its first-round contest.

There is expected to be a heavy volume of Rattler fans in the building for the matchup. This level of support brings extra excitement for the players.

"The fans will fire us up. We play well in crowded gyms. We have a good away and neutral-site record. The fans will only help us. We're excited to see a new gym and use it to our advantage," Washington said.

FAMU's rise to the top

Grad student Jessa Long is the 2021 SWAC Libero of the Year.

She's one of the veterans who has watched the program elevate from hardships to national acclaim.

This is a crowning achievement for the star libero in her final season.

"For us, this is really special. We had the COVID season we lost. We're achieving something and it's special," Long said.

"I love this. We have a good draw and we're going to compete. We're the underdog and you never know. Underdogs come out on top sometimes."

FAMU volleyball players pile on each other in celebration of winning the 2021 SWAC championship on Sunday, Nov. 21. They are the first Rattlers team to win a SWAC title. FAMU joined the conference in July 2021.
FAMU volleyball players pile on each other in celebration of winning the 2021 SWAC championship on Sunday, Nov. 21. They are the first Rattlers team to win a SWAC title. FAMU joined the conference in July 2021.

With Sunday's announcement, FAMU volleyball is the second program to compete in the postseason for fall sports this season.

This past Saturday, the football team was on the road against Southeastern Louisiana in the FCS playoffs. The Lions beat the Rattlers 38-14.

Follow FAMU beat writer Rory Sharrock on Twitter @married2game1.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU to face No. 16 overall seed Florida in NCAA volleyball tournament