Florida tied their five-set high of 12 blocks, but their .129 hitting percentage marks a season low.
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/11/27/South_Carolina_Box_Score.pdf>
COLUMBIA, SC – After winning sets two and four, the No. 18 Florida volleyball team fell 2-3 (20-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-22, 13-15) to South Carolina on Wednesday afternoon inside a crowded Carolina volleyball Center. Overall there were 44 score ties and 20 lead changes throughout the entire match. The Gators are now 21-6 on the season and head into their final conference match of the season with an 11-4 SEC record.
Sophomore All-American Kennedy Martin led the Gators offensively with 20 kills to total 22.5 points, while Isabel Martin recorded her third-straight double-double match as she recorded 11 digs and 10 kills.
At the net, Amaya Thomas posted a career-high seven blocks after having three solo blocks, while Jaela Auguste recorded five blocks for the second-straight match. Alec Rothe and K. Martin contributed to three blocks each.
Setter Taylor Parks dished out 44 assists in the five setter and added six digs, two blocks, one kill and one block to her stat line. Besides both Martins, Parks aided four Gators to two or more kills: Auguste (7), Thomas (6), Rothe (4) and Lauren Harden (2).
Elli McKissock paced the backcourt with 17 digs, while the Martin duo combined for 17 of Florida’s 53. Additional, Emerson Hoyle tied her season-high four, while Emily Canaan added five of her own.
Both teams struggled behind the service line on Wednesday. The Gamecocks tallied 30 errors to finish with five aces, while K. Martin, Isi Martin, Parks and McKissock dropped one of Florida’s four team aces.
Records
No. 18 Florida (21-6,11-4 SEC)
South Carolina (16-10, 7-8 SEC)
How It Happened
Set 1
* The two teams traded points for a 6-6 start, until South Carolina pulled ahead by two. Isi Martin used the block to help Florida inch within one, but the Gamecocks tallied two kills to push to an 11-8 lead. Trailing 12-15 out of the media timeout, Florida went on a 3-0 scoring run behind points from K. Martin and Thomas to make it 15-16. South Carolina called a timeout and responded with a 5-0 scoring run to pull ahead to a 21-15 lead and force a Gator timeout. A backrow attack from K. Martin kept the Gators alive, but the Gamecocks aggressive serving was enough to come away with a 25-20 win.
* Set 1 Team Stats | .200 Hitting % | 10 Kills | 10 Assists | 8 Digs | 2.0 Team Blocks | 0 Aces
Set 2
* Florida changed the pace in the second set, going on 3-0 scoring run for an early 4-1 lead. After evening the score at five, the Gamecocks pulled ahead to a 7-6 lead before recording five-straight errors to hand the Gators a 11-7 advantage. Following a South Carolina timeout, kills from the Martin duo and an ace from the Germany native extended the lead to 15-10. SC crept back within three, but a freshman block from Auguste and Rothe widened the gap back to 18-13. South Carolina didn’t go away easily and scored three-straight points, but a backrow attack from K. Martin ended the Gamecocks momentum to push the Gators closer to set point. Auguste closed with Parks for another freshman block to force a South Carolina timeout. Out of the huddle, a slide from Thomas and a line shot from Isi Martin kept the pace for Florida, but the Gamecocks hung around to trail by two before a block from Jaela and Rothe secured the 25-22 victory for Florida. The Gators tallied six of their 12 team blocks in the second set alone.
* Set 2 Team Stats | .148 Hitting % | 12 Digs | 11 Kills | 11 Assists | 6.0 Team Blocks | 1 Ace
Set 3
* An ace from McKissock helped carry Florida’s momentum into the third set, as the Gators grabbed an early 5-3 lead. Two points from the home team evened the score at five, as the two teams exchanged points until a block from K. Martin and Thomas followed with a kill from the Fort Meyer, SC native brought Florida to an 11-9 advantage. After tying it back up at 11, South Carolina was able to hold onto a 15-14 lead heading into the media timeout. Points from Auguste and the Martin duo notched it up at 16 to kickstart a 2-0 Florida scoring run to take an 18-16 lead. South Carolina called a timeout and responded with back-to-back kills to tie it back up at 18 and make the Gators use their timeout. Out of the huddle, Florida earned an 21-19 advantage, but back-to-back errors from Florida made it 21-21. Heading into the closing moments of set three, back-to-back kills from Auguste made it set-point Florida, 24-22, but two more errors allowed the Gamecocks to hang around and come away with a 26-24 win. Overall there were 16 tied scores and five lead changes in set three.
* Set 3 Team Stats | .139 Hitting % | 12 Kills | 1 Ace | 1.0 Team Block
Set 4
* Trailing 6-3, a slide from Auguste and an ace from Parks kept the Gators within three in the first half of set four, as Florida went into the media timeout trailing 12-15. Following the break, Florida capitalized off a home-team serving error with three-straight points to force the Gamecocks to call a timeout after a solo block from Thomas notched it up at 16. Aggressive defense from the backcourt and points from K. Martin kept the score tied, but Florida pulled to an 22-20 advantage and make South Carolina use their first timeout. Out of the huddle, Florida remained in control, as a block from Thomas followed up by a cross-shot from Isi Martin put the Gators at set-point. The Gamecocks hit one down to stay within striking distance, but a service error from the home team secured the 25-22 win for Florida and force it to five.
* Set 4 Team Stats | .231 Hitting % | 11 Kills | 2.0 Team Blocks | 1 Ace
Set 5
* With the race to 15, Florida fell to a 4-5 deficit in the opening points of the set where winner takes all. Back-to-back points from K. Martin put the Gators in the lead, but South Carolina regained an 8-7 advantage at the halfway mark. After switching sides, Auguste evened the score at eight, but the Gamecocks grabbed a 10-9 lead. The two teams exchanged points until Harden took opportunity of an open net to put Florida on top by one, but South Carolina grabbed the three of the next four points to regain a 13-11 lead. The Gators fought back to inch within one, but was unable to make the comeback after falling 13-15 in final set.
* Set 5 Team Stats | -.087 Hitting % | 6 Kills | 1 Ace | 1 Team Block
Notables
* Three players either set or tied a career high:
* Amaya Thomas: 7 Blocks | 3 Solo Blocks
* Lauren Harden: 2 Digs (Tied)
* Emerson Hoyle: 1 Assist (Tied)
* Isabel Martin recorded her third-consecutive double-double match with 11 digs and 10 kills
* Two Gators recorded double-digit kills:
* Kennedy Martin: 20
* Isabel Martin: 10
* Two names finished with double-digit digs:
* Elli McKissock: 17
* Isabel Martin: 11
* Florida moves to 64-12 (56-6 under Wise) in the all-time series record against South Carolina
* The Gators are now 4-4 in five-set matches against the Gamecocks
* UF sits 29-8 when playing South Carolina in Columbia, SC
* During the 2024 season, Florida is 3-2 in five-set matches
* The Gators move to 6-1 in November matches
* UF is now 2-2 when playing on a Wednesday
* Kennedy Martin’s 20 Kills continues her streak of recording double-digit kills in every match she has played wearing the Orange and Blue (49 matches)
* Elli McKissock ranks 2nd for career digs (2,086), 8th for career aces (142) and 2nd for career assists (526) in Program history
* Taylor Parks ranks 19th for career assists in Program history with 752
* The Gators have won 20 or more matches in 33 of Mary Wise’s 34 years at the helm of Florida volleyball.
Up Next
* The Gators one more conference matchup in Athens, Ga. on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 1 p.m. inside the Stegeman Coliseum. Fans who can’t attend will be able to live stream the match on SEC Network+ as well as fans can follow @GatorsVB on socials for match updates or via live stats, which can be found on volleyball’s schedule page on FloridaGators.com.
at Georgia (10-14, 4-10 SEC)
Date & Time: Saturday, Nov. 30 | 1 p.m. E.T.
Watch: SEC Network+<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/7713ff47-d5df-4f86-a8ca-f98e39ec7998>
Live Stats: StatsBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=538323&vislive=fla>
Follow: @GatorsVB<https://x.com/GatorsVB>
Series Information
* Series Record 69-11 (66-3 under Wise)
* 3-set: 49-5; 4-set: 15-3; 5-set: 5-3
* Home: 32-4; Away: 29-4; Neutral: 8-3
* Last time out: Sept. 24, 2023 | W, 3-2 | H | 25-22, 22-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-11
FOLLOW FLORIDA VOLLEYBALL
FloridaGators.com<http://floridagators.com/index.aspx?path=volleyball>
Twitter<https://twitter.com/GatorsVB>
Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/gatorsvb/?hl=en>
Coach <http://www.twitter.com/GatorMary> Mary Wise<http://www.floridagators.com/coaches.aspx?rc=25> on Twitter | Coach <http://instagram.com/gatormary> Mary Wise<http://www.floridagators.com/coaches.aspx?rc=25> on Instagram
Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gator-Volleyball/154312757940308>
