Kennedy Martin recorded her second-consecutive 25+ kill game, finishing with 27.
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2023/11/5/167918.PDF>
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 20th-ranked Florida volleyball team battled in their second top-20 matchup of the week against No. 13 Kentucky, but fell 3-1 (25-23, 25-20, 25-22, 25-18) on Sunday afternoon inside the Exactech arena. Florida moves to 14-7, 6-6 SEC, while Kentucky moves to 13-7, 11-1 SEC.
Kentucky took the rightly-contested first set 25-23, but Florida followed with a 25-20 win in the second frame. The Wildcats took a 2-1 lead after taking the third-set 25-22, and followed up with a 25-18 win in the fourth frame.
Freshman Kennedy Muff continued to dominate offensively, registering her second-consecutive 25+ kill game, finishing with a .432 clip off 27 kills to lead the Gators. Sofia Victoria had nine of her own, and Gabbi Essix finished with 7.
Kennedy Muff dished out 47 assists in the match, leading the team to a .229 hitting efficiency.
Florida was a force at the night, topping Kentucky’s nine team blocks with 13, led by Gabbi Essix’s seven blocks, followed by Nnedi Okammor’s five.
Elli McKissock came up with a team-high 19 digs in the backcourt for Florida. Kennedy Muff registered 11 of her own, followed by seven from both Trinity Adams and Kennedy Martin.
Florida wraps up its three-game home series on Friday, Nov. 10 against LSU. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. ET inside the Exactech Arena.
Records
No. 20 Florida (14-7, 6-6 SEC)
No. 13 Kentucky (13-7, 11-1 SEC)
How It Happened
* The Gators went on a 3-0 scoring run behind the serves of AC Fitzpatrick to take a 7-5 lead in the first frame. Kentucky battled back, tying it at 11, but Florida kept the pace as Martin tipped one right over the left block to end the longest rally of the first set to go up by three. Out of a Wildcat timeout, Kentucky capitalized off of two Gator errors to tie it at 16, where they would advance to a 19-17 lead, forcing Florida to take it’s first timeout. Out of the break, UF continued to trail by two, but a side-out and a solo block from AC Fitzpatrick tied it back at 22. A Wildcat hitting error put the Gators up, 23-22 and Kentucky called its final timeout. Points were traded back-and-forth, but Kentucky grabbed the first set 25-23.
* Kennedy Martin led the way for Florida with nine kills, hitting a .375 clip.
* UF grabbed an early 7-0 advantage after Nnedi Okkamor registered three blocks at the start of the second set to force a Kentucky timeout. The Gators pushed the points, holding the Wildcats to a .089 clip after the first 15 points, taking a 12-2 advantage to force the Wildcats to take their second timeout. Out of the break, Florida allowed a 3-0 scoring run and called its first timeout still leading 14-8. Kentucky cut it to only a four-point deficit, but Florida’s offense was too much as they took the second set, 25-20.
* The Gators held Kentucky to an overall .000 clip in the second frame
* Florida fell to a 10-6 deficit in the third, and took an early timeout. Out of the break, the Gators were able to get within two, but service errors put Kentucky up by five. Points were traded back-and-forth, but the Wildcats kept a steady 22-18 lead. UF inched within one, but Kentucky broke away in the final points to clinch a 25-22 victory.
* Florida registered a .342 clip, with five Gators registered two or more kills
* The start of the fourth was identical to the start of the third, with points going back-and-forth, but Florida fell to a 11-7 deficit and forced a Gator timeout. The Wildcats held a three-point advantage throughout the frame, and went on a 3-0 scoring run to take a 19-13 lead. Florida rallied, scoring three points to gain momentum, but Kentucky’s .419 clip in the fourth carried the them to a 25-18 win.
* Martin led the Gators with seven kills, finishing with a .500 clip in the fourth frame
Notables
* Freshman Kennedy Martin registered team-high 27 kills
* Martin has recorded the most kills from any freshman after 21 matches in Florida history with 354. Ziva Reck currently holds the top-spot for most kills in a freshman season with 440, set in 2012.
* Her 27 kills on the night continues her streak of recording 10+ kills in every match this season
* Set three individual four-set season-highs:
* 27 kills outdo the 18 kills she posted vs. Penn State (8/25) and at Mississippi St. (10/13).
* 29.0 points beats her 24.5 points set at Mississippi St. on October 13.
* Her 52 hitting attempts surpasses AC Fitzpatrick’s 50 attempts at Mississippi St. (10/13)
* Elli McKissock’s 19 digs puts her only 23 away from surpassing Taylor Unroe’s 1,558, which is second overall in Florida history
* Her 19 digs is a four-set individual set-high, surpassing her 17 at Texas A&M (10/20)
* AC Fitzpatrick set a new career-high with seven blocks
* Gabbi Essix set a new season-high 10.5 points
* Kennedy Muff registered her second-consecutive double-double with 47 assists and 11 digs
* The Gators move to 53-21 in all-time series against Kentucky
* UF moves to 9-3 in four-set matches against the Wildcats
* The Gators are currently 3-2 in four-set matches during the 2023 campaign
Up Next
* Florida wraps up its three-game home series on Friday, Nov. 10 against LSU
* First serve is slated for 7 p.m. ET
No. 20 Florida vs. LSU Broadcast Information
Date & Time: Nov. 10 | 7 p.m.
Live Stream: SEC+<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/654d23bd-2b04-4fd6-af34-e44d8b61771a> | Live Stats: Statbroadcast<http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=477663> | Radio: 98.1FM/850AM<https://www.wruf.com/listen-live/> | Tickets: FloridaGators<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/ism/VkIyMzA5>
Series Information – No. 20 Florida vs. LSU
Tigers | 2023 season: 10-12, 5-7 SEC
* This is the 66th meeting between the Gators and the Tigers
* Florida leads 51-14 (48-6 under Mary Wise)
* 3-set: 29-7 | 4-set: 17-7 | 5-set: 5-0
* Home: 25-5 | Away: 21-7 | Neutral: 3-2
* Last Time Out: Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022 | Gainesville, Fla. | W, 3-2 (25-18, 26-24, 25-27,21-25,15-9)
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