Martin’s 31 Kills Ties Program Record in No. 24 Florida’s 3-1 Win Over Tennessee
Kennedy Martin ties four-time AVCA All-American Aury Cruz’s 31 kills from December 8, 2001.
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/common/controls/doc_handler.aspx?doc=37355>
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 24 Florida volleyball team tallied their third-consecutive conference win after coming back and defeating Tennessee 3-1 (25-27, 25-23, 25-16, 25-20) on Friday night inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The Gators jump to 5-3 in league play, while improving to 14-5 overall.
Sophomore All-American Kennedy Martin lead the way with 31 kills, surpassing her previous career-high of 28 that she set at home against Tennessee last season on Nov. 3, 2023. She ties the program’s individual single-game kill record, as well as recording the most kills in a four-set match. She tied former Gator Aury Cruz, the four-time AVCA All-American and three-time SEC Player of the Year’s 31 kills that she last recorded against Nebraska on December 8, 2001 in Florida’s Final Four match, which went into five sets.
As a team, Florida reset their conference hitting-percentage high after recording a .444 clip. Redshirt senior Isabel Martin joined her fellow Martin in double-digit kills, registering 14 for a .480 hitting clip. Fifth Year outside hitter AC Fitzpatrick was just shy of double-digits with nine kills, while freshman middle blocker Jaela Auguste finished with six. Freshman setter Taylor Parks (4), junior middle blocker Amaya Thomas (3) and redshirt sophomore Alexis Stucky (1) contributed to eight of the Gators 68 kills.
Stucky and Parks both saw action in the fourth-setter. After starting the second set, Parks dished out 40 assists in her three sets of play, while Stucky recorded 14 of her own in the opening set. Florida’s 65 total assists marks a new four-set high for Florida.
The Gators edged the Lady Vols in 7.0 – 6.0 total team blocks, while holding Tennessee, who leads the league in hitting percentage in conference play, to a .278 hitting clip. Five players posted two blocks: Fitzpatrick, Auguste, Isi Martin, K. Martin and Thomas.
In the backcourt, eight players contributed to at least one dig on the stats sheet. Libero Elli McKissock led the way with 16 digs. The fifth year also tallied six assists and one ace in the four setter. K. Martin followed with a season-high eight digs and Parks recorded seven of her own. Additionally, Isi Martin (6), junior Emily Canaan (5), Stucky (3), Fitzpatrick (3) and junior Emerson Hoyle (1) helped contribute to Florida’s 49 team digs.
Behind the service line, Florida recorded four team aces while Tennessee finished with eight. Isi Martin dropped two of Florida’s four aces, while Hoyle and McKissock contributed to the remaining two.
Records
No. 24 Florida (14-5, 5-3 SEC)
Tennessee (10-8, 3-5 SEC)
How It Happened
Set 1
* A Lady Vols ace put Florida behind 3-6, but a kill from Fitzpatrick ended Tennessee’s 3-0 scoring run. A set dump from Stucky inched the Gators within one, as Florida evened the score at 10 before heading into the media timeout trailing 12-15. Out of the break, the Gators quickly regrouped after Tennessee climbed to a 17-13 lead. Following the timeout, Florida continued to trail by four, but inched back within two after a kill from Fitzpatrick and two opponent hitting errors. After a Tennessee timeout, a kill from K. Martin continued the Gators momentum and notched it up at 20. A race to 25, the two teams exchanged closing points, but a successful challenge from Tennessee made it 24-22 and forced a Florida timeout. Out of the huddle, back-to-back kills from Isi Martin kept the Gators alive, but Tennessee was the first to tally two-consecutive points for a 27-25 win. The opening set had nine tie scores and four set-points.
* Set 1 Team Stats | .353 Hitting % | 17 Kills | 16 Assists | 12 Digs | 2.0 Team Blocks | 2 Aces
Set 2
* After exchanging the opening points, a set dump from Parks tied it at nine. A block from Fitzpatrick and Rothe gave Florida a 10-9 lead, but Tennessee responded with a 4-0 scoring to go up 13-10 and force a Florida timeout. Out of the huddle, a solo block from Fitzpatrick lit some fire back into the home team, but Tennessee’s attacking allowed them to maintain a three-point advantage. Trailing 17-20, the Gators climbed back within one after points from Isi, K. Martin and Auguste. Tennessee quickly used two timeouts after handing the Gators a 22-21 lead. Out of the huddle, the Lady Vols hung around at 23-24 before K. Martin put one down to close out set two with a 25-23 win.
* Set 2 Team Stats | .375 Hitting % | 15 Kills | 15 Assists | 10 Digs | 4.0 Team Blocks
Set 3
* Florida was the first to five, and pushed to a 10-5 lead thanks to back-to-back kills from Isi Martin. Tennessee moved back within three, but a backrow attack from K. Martin pushed Florida to 15. The Gators maintained a five-point advantage, and an ace from Isi Martin forced the crowd to their feet after Tennessee called a timeout with 21-14 on the scoreboard. It was all Gators the rest of the way, taking the third set 25-16.
* Set 3 Team Stats | .556 Hitting % | 17 Kills | 17 Assists | 12 Digs | 1.0 Team Blocks | 1.0 Ace
Set 4
* After exchanging the opening points, Florida trailed 5-7 before an ace from Hoyle notched it up at seven. Back-to-back Tennessee aces gave the opponent a 13-10 lead and forced a Florida timeout. Out of the break, two kills from K. Martin made it 12-13, and McKissock continued the Gators rally with an ace to even the score at 13. The two teams exchanged points before the Gators grabbed a one-point lead heading into a Tennessee timeout with a 17-16 advantage. Kills from the Martin duo extended Florida lead to 20-18, and a block from Thomas and Isi Martin put the Gators only four away from match point. With 21-19 on the scoreboard, K. Martin recorded three of Florida’s four-final kills to close out the match with a 25-20 fourth-set win.
* Set 4 Team Stats | .516 Hitting % | 19 Kills | 17 Assists | 14 Digs | 3 Aces | 2.0 Team Block
Notables
* Florida set five four-set match highs:
* Points: 79.0
* Hitting Percentage: .444
* Kills: 68
* Attempts: 128
* Assists: 65
* Kennedy Martin set three individual four-set highs:
* Points: Kennedy Martin – 32.5
* Kills: Kennedy Martin – 31 Kills
* Total Attempts: Kennedy Martin – 48
* Three players either set or tied a career high:
* Isabel Martin: 3 Assists
* Kennedy Martin: 31 Kills | 32.5 Points
* Taylor Parks: 4 Kills (Tied)
* Three Gators either set or tied a season high:
* Isabel Martin: 3 Assists
* Kennedy Martin: 31 Kills | 8 Digs | 32.5 Points
* Taylor Parks: 4 Kills (Tied) |
* Two players finished with double-digit kills: Isabel Martin (14) and Kennedy Martin (31)
* The Gators improve to 56-14 (52-9 under Wise) in the all-time series record against Tennessee
* Florida is now 13-4 in four-set matches against the Lady Vols
* UF jumps to 29-8 when playing Tennessee in Gainesville, Fla.
* The Gators are now 5-1 in four-set matches in the 2024 season
* Florida improves to 5-1 in Friday matches
* UF jumps to 4-2 in October matches
* Friday’s match marks Florida’s fifth comeback win of the 2024 season
* Kennedy Martin’s 31 Kills continues her streak of recording double-digit kills in every match she has played wearing the Orange and Blue
* Elli McKissock ranks 2nd for career digs (1928), 9th for career aces (132) and 21st for career assists (504) in Program history
* Alexis Stucky ranks 14th for career assists in Program history with 1793
* Taylor Parks ranks 23rd for career assists in Program history with 472
Thoughts from Coach Wise
* “Everyone in the O’Dome witnessed a pretty special performance from Kennedy Martin and deservingly gets the credit, but there were so many other moments as well… The defensive plays from Elli McKissock and Emily Canaan, the setting performance from Taylor Parks, Amaya Thomas coming in for three sets as well as Isi Martin’s play the entire match.”
Up Next
* The Gators have the weekend off before traveling to Fayetteville, Arkansas on Wednesday, Oct. 30 for a midweek matchup against the Razorbacks. Wednesday’s match marks Florida’s first midweek match in league play, with first serve slated for 8 p.m. ET. Fans not in attendance can watch on SEC Network as well as follow @GatorsVB for match updates.
No. 24 Florida (14-5, 5-3 SEC) vs. RV Arkansas (14-5, 4-3 SEC)
Wednesday, Oct. 30 | 8 p.m. ET
Barnhill Arena | Fayetteville, AR
SECN<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/ffc44399-714e-48bc-9f68-15242fea8946> | Live Stats<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=537121>
Series Information
* Series Record 50-5 (50-5 under Wise)
* 3-set: 29-2; 4-set: 14-0; 5-set: 7-3
* Home: 24-1; Away: 20-3; Neutral: 6-1
* Last time out | L, 2-3 | A | 20-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-19, 11-15
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