All-Around Performance from No. 20 Florida Volleyball Hands Auburn 3-1 Loss
Offensively and defensively, three Gators finished with double-digits.
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/11/20/Vs._Auburn_Box_Score.pdf>
AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 20 Florida volleyball team tallied their ninth-consecutive win after taking down Auburn 3-1 (25-17, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21) on the road inside Neville Arena. The Gators jump to 11-3 in conference play and 20-5 overall.
Wednesday’s win marks the first time since 2021 that Florida has won nine-consecutive SEC matches in a row. The Gators won nine-straight from Oct. 16 to Nov. 21, 2021 when two-match series were played back-to-back due to COVID-19 regulations.
The Gators have now won 20 matches in 33 of Mary Wise’s 34 years at the helm of Florida volleyball.
Sophomore All-American Kennedy Martin finished with 31 kills and 10 digs to record her second double-double of the season, while redshirt senior Isabel Martin finished with 11 kills and 11 digs to tally her first.
Libero Elli McKissock put on a defensive show, tallying 31 digs to tie her career high and lead the way for Florida in the backcourt. The fifth year recorded double digits in the opening set after recording 13 digs, and recorded 21 digs after two sets.
Overall, three Gators finished with double-digit kills. K. Martin’s 31 marks her fourth match this season recording 30 or more, while Isi’s 11 marks her 13th match with 10 or more kills. Freshman middle blocker Jaela Auguste was the third player to end in double digits after finishing with 10 of her own. Additionally, freshman Lauren Harden played all four sets in the outside hitter position and tallied a career-high five kills. Middle blockers Alec Rothe (3) and Amaya Thomas (2) added a combined five to the stat sheet.
Redshirt sophomore Alexis Stucky and freshman Taylor Parks both finished with 28 assists a piece in the four setter. Stucky started for the Gators and tallied her 28 assists in two sets before Parks stepped onto the court during set two and closed out the match for Florida.
At the net, Auguste and K. Martin posted four blocks a piece, while Stucky, Rothe, Isi Martin and Thomas contributed to Florida’s 7.5 total team blocks.
Other than the three Gators who finished with double-digit digs, six additional players contributed to Florida’s 77 digs: Stucky (8), Emily Canaan (7), Parks (6), Harden (2), Rothe (1) and Emerson Hoyle (1).
Behind the service line, Florida out served the Tigers 6-5 with six players tallying one ace to the stat sheet: Hoyle, Stucky, Canaan, Isi Martin, K. Martin and Parks.
Records
No. 20 Florida (20-5, 11-3 SEC)
Auburn (14-11 4-10 SEC)
How It Happened
Set 1
* A block from Auguste and Stucky evened the score at five in the opening set. The Tigers pulled ahead to an 8-6 lead, but the Gators were the first to 10 after a block from K. Martin and Rothe. Two home errors gave Florida a 12-10 advantage and an outside attack from Harden brought the Gators into the media timeout with a 15-12 lead. Following the break, al-around effort from McKissock in the backcourt gave the offense plenty of opportunities to rack up points, as Florida pulled ahead by six heading into the closing points of set one. Auburn tallied three points in attempt to rally a comeback, but was not able to defend Florida’s versatile attacking, as the Gators took set one with a 25-17 win. McKissock tallied 13 digs in set one alone, while Isi Martin recorded five kills.
* Set 1 Team Stats | .310 Hitting % | 21 Digs | 17 Kills | 17 Assists | 3.0 Team Blocks | 0 Aces
Set 2
* Florida started the second set with a 6-1 lead, but Auburn climbed back to take a 10-9 lead after going on two separate 3-0 scoring runs. Tied at 11, the Gators regained a 14-11 lead following points from the Martin duo and an ace from Stucky. After the media timeout, Florida maintained a three-point advantage, until the Tigers went on another 3-0 scoring run to tie it back up at 19. An ace from Canaan put Florida ahead by two and a successful challenge from Coach Wise made the score 23-20. The home team rallied back to inch within one and force Florida to use a timeout, still leading 23-22. Out of the huddle, a kill from K. Martin closed out set two and help give the Gators a 25-23 win. Kennedy led the way with seven kills, while McKissock tallied eight digs.
* Set 2 Team Stats | .209 Hitting % | 28 Digs | 15 Kills | 14 Assists | 4 aces | 1.5 Team Blocks |
Set 3
* After exchanging points in the opening half of set three, the Tigers’ .304 hitting percentage allowed for a 15-13 lead heading into the media timeout. Following the break, points from the Martin duo kept Florida within two, but service errors allowed Auburn a 19-16 advantage to force a Gator timeout. Out of the huddle, two kills from Auguste inched Florida back within two, but Auburn was able to pull away and grab set three with a 25-20 win. K. Martin tallied 11 kills in the third set alone.
* Set 3 Team Stats | .265 Hitting % | 17 Digs | 16 Kills | 15 Assists | 0 Aces | 0 Team Blocks
Set 4
* An ace from Auburn put the home team ahead 5-3, but a kill from Harden ended the Tigers 3-0 scoring run. The Gators fell behind by four before creeping back within one after a 3-0 scoring run behind points from K. Martin and Thomas. Back-to-back kills from the All-American sophomore tied it up at 12, and a big block from K. Martin and Auguste gave the Gators their first lead since the opening three points. UF maintained a one-point lead thanks to Auburn serving errors and back-to-back kills from Auguste made it match-point Florida. The Tigers used their second timeout to slow the Gators momentum, but an ace from K. Martin secured the 25-21 win.
* Set 4 Team Stats | .321 Hitting % | 14 Kills | 14 Assists | 11 Digs | 3.0 Team Blocks | 2 Aces
Notables
* Two players either set or tied a career high:
* Elli McKissock: 31 Digs (Tied)
* Lauren Harden: 5 Kills | 2 Digs
* Two Gators recorded a double-double
* Kennedy Martin: 31 kills, 10 digs
* Isabel Martin: 11 Kills, 11 digs
* Three Gators finished with double-digit kills
* Kennedy Martin: 31
* Isabel Martin: 11
* Jeala Auguste: 10
* Three Players registered double-digit digs:
* Elli McKissock: 31
* Isabel Martin: 11
* Kennedy Martin: 10
* The Gators improve to 56-3 (52-2 under Wise) in the all-time series against the Tigers
* Florida is now 13-1 in four-set matches against Auburn
* UF moves to 27-2 in matches played against the Tigers in Auburn, AL.
* During the 2024 season, the Gators sit 8-1 in four-set matches
* Florida improves to 2-1 in Wednesday matches
* UF remains perfect in November play at 5-0
* Kennedy Martin’s 31 Kills continues her streak of recording double-digit kills in every match she has played wearing the Orange and Blue (47 Matches)
* Elli McKissock ranks 2nd for career digs (2,049), 9th for career aces (138) and 21st for career assists (522) in Program history
* Alexis Stucky ranks 14th for career assists in Program history with 1,908
* Taylor Parks ranks 19th for career assists in Program history with 655
Up Next
* The Gators return to the O’Dome for their senior match against the UCF on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 4:30 p.m. ET. Senior celebrations will occur prior to first serve and Admission to the Volleyball match is FREE with a purchased football ticket – just stop by after the game!
* Due to Florida’s-Ole Miss’s noon kickoff, parking will be impacted. Parking information for Saturday can be found at Saturday Volleyball Parking Information – Florida Gators<https://floridagators.com/news/2024/11/20/saturday-volleyball-parking-information.aspx>
* Fans unable to attend on Saturday can stream the match live on SEC Network+ or can listen through the airways of ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF. Additionally, 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.
No. 20 Florida (20-5, 11-3 SEC) vs. UCF (8-15, 1-13 Big12)
Saturday, Nov. 23 | 4:30 p.m. ET
Exactech Arena – Gainesville, Fla.
SECN+<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/3840cfe6-0ebd-4b95-b0d7-b6089838d68c?om-navmethod=espn%3Aglobalsearch%3Aresults> | Live Stats<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=538173> | Tickets<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/en/buy/ism/VkIyNDE1>
Series Information
* Series Record 20-0 (8-0 under Wise)
* 3-set: 14-0, 4-set: 5-0; 5-set: 1-0
* Home: 10-0; Away: 7-0; Neutral: 3-0
* Last time out: 2019 | W, 3-0 | H | 25-21, 25-18, 25-17
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