No. 19 Florida volleyball posted 12 blocks in Friday’s 3-1 win.
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/10/11/Box_Score.pdf>
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 19 Florida volleyball team defeated Mississippi State 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 24-26, 25-14) on Friday night inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The Gators move to 11-4 overall, while evening out their SEC record at 2-2.
All-American redshirt sophomore Alexis Stucky posted her first double-double of the season and the ninth of her career after recording 47 assists and 14 digs, while supporting three Gators to double-digit kills. For the seventh time this season, All-American sophomore Kennedy Martin led Florida’s offense with 14 kills, while redshirt senior Isabel Martin (12) and fifth year AC Fitzpatrick (11) combined for 23 kills. Freshman Jaela Auguste’s nine kills, freshman Alec Rothe’s four kills, junior Amaya Thomas’ four kills, and Stucky’s one kills also contributed to the Gators .289 hitting percentage.
On the defensive end, Florida held the Bulldogs to a .189 hitting percentage after posting 12.0 team blocks and no blocking errors. Auguste tied her career-high seven, while six other Gators recorded at least one block assist: K. Martin (4), Fitzpatrick (3), Stucky (3), Thomas (3), Rothe (2) and Isi. Martin (1).
In the backcourt, Libero Elli McKissock tallied 18 digs to lead the way for the 14th time this season. Stucky followed with her 14 digs, while Isi Martin picked up eight on her own and K. Martin followed next with five. Junior Emily Canaan, freshman Taylor Parks and Fitzpatrick all recorded two, while Auguste tied her career-high one.
Stucky dropped five of the Gators’ 10 aces, with K. Martin serving two of her own and Canaan, Parks and Fitzpatrick having one.
Records
No. 19 Florida (11-4, 2-2 SEC)
Mississippi State (7-6, 1-3 SEC)
How It Happened
Set 1
* A tip over the block from K. Martin brought the All-American sophomore to the service line, where Auguste had a block in the middle to bring the Gators to a 5-3 lead in the opening set. Another Gator block from Stucky and Rothe followed by a Stucky dump extended Florida’s lead to 9-5, but the Bulldogs inched back within one after back-to-back attacks. A slide from Auguste added a point for Florida as the two teams headed into the media timeout with the Gators leading 15-12. Following the break, Mississippi State got within one, but Parks capitalized on a Bulldog service error with an ace to regain a 17-14 lead and force an opponent timeout. Out of the huddle, Mississippi State went on a 3-0 run to climb back to a 19-18 and forced Florida to use their first timeout. The Gators grabbed the next three points heading into the final points, as the Bulldogs used their second timeout to slow Florida’s momentum. Mississippi State added three points to the stat sheet before the Gators secured a 25-21 win.
* Set 1 Team Stats | .364 Hitting % | 18 Assists | 17 Kills | 13 Digs | 3.0 Team Blocks |1 Ace
Set 2
* Stucky started the second set off with an ace and Auguste continued the momentum with back-to-back kills to put Florida up by one, 5-4. Mississippi State went on a 3-0 scoring run to take a 7-6 lead and earn their first lead of the match, but the Gators took back the lead after a kill and an ace from Fitzpatrick. The two teams exchanged points before the Bulldogs went up 12-10 after recording a kill and a block. A block from K. Martin and Thomas and another kill from Fitzpatrick notched it up at 13 and another Gator block put Florida up by one, as the two teams went into the media timeout with 15-14 on the scoreboard. Out of the break, Florida continued their momentum, climbing to a 19-15 lead after a K. Martin ace. Out of a Mississippi State timeout, the Bulldogs got within three, but another block with Thomas in the middle kept the Gators momentum and helped push Florida to a 25-19 win.
* Set 2 Team Stats | .222 Hitting % | 12 Digs | 11 Kills | 10 Assists | 4 aces | 3.0 Team Blocks
Set 3
* The Gators grabbed a 3-0 lead thanks to yet another Stucky ace, but the Bulldogs scored the next three points to tie it at three. Florida was the first to five after a K. Martin kill, and a block from Auguste and Fitzpatrick made it 6-4. Similar to set two, Mississippi State grabbed a 7-6 lead, but K. Martin put one down to side out and head to the service line. The two teams traded points in the opening half until the Gators went into the media timeout with a 15-13 lead. Out of the huddle, the Bulldogs notched it up at 15 before taking a 19-17 lead and force a Florida timeout. Following the break, attacks from Auguste and K. Martin tied at 20 and made Mississippi State use a timeout. With the race to 25, back-to-back points from Isi Martin pushed Florida closer to match point, but Mississippi State grabbed a 23-22 lead to force a Gator timeout. K. Martin tied it at 23 after recording her 12th kill of the night and a Bulldog error made it 24-23 Florida. After a Mississippi State timeout, the Bulldogs went on a 3-0 scoring run to force it four after winning 26-24.
* Set 3 Team Stats | .111 Hitting % | 18 Digs | 12 Kills | 12 Assists | 4.0 Team Blocks | 1 Ace
Set 4
* After trailing 0-2, Florida found their rhythm and was the first to five after a K. Martin ace. The two teams battled point-for-point until the Gators went on a 6-0 scoring run with Stucky behind the service line for a 13-8 lead. Back-to-back kills from Fitzpatrick extended the lead to eight and forced the Bulldogs to call their second timeout of set four. Out of the break, Mississippi State rallied back within six, but all-around defense and aggressive serving carried the Gators to a 25-14 fourth-set victory.
* Set 4 Team Stats | .520 Hitting % | 15 Kills | 15 Assists | 9 Digs | 4 Aces | 2.0 Team Blocks
Notables
* Three players tied at least one career high:
* Jaela Auguste: Blocks: 7 (Tied) | Dig: 1 (Tied)
* Emily Canaan: 3 Assists (Tied)
* Alexis Stucky: 5 Aces (Tied)
* Four Gators either set or tied a season high:
* Jaela Auguste: Blocks: 7 (Tied) | Dig: 1 (Tied)
* Alexis Stucky: Assists: 47 | Aces: 5 | Digs: 14 | Blocks: 3.0
* Emily Canaan: 3 Assists
* Isabel Martin: Assists: 1 (Tied)
* Alexis Stucky recorded her first double-double of the season after finishing with 47 assists and 14 digs. It marks the ninth of her career.
* Three Gators finished with double-digit kills: Kennedy Martin: 14, Isabel Martin: 12 and AC Fitzpatrick: 11
* The Gators improve to 56-2 (47-2 under Wise) in the all-time series against the Bulldogs.
* Florida now has a 5-1 advantage in four-set matches against Mississippi State
* UF now holds a 26-1 record against Mississippi State in Gainesville, Fla.
* Tonight’s win improves Florida’s record to 4-1 in four-set matches
* The Gators are now 3-1 in Friday matches during the 2024 season
* Florida improves to 1-1 in matches played in October
* Kennedy Martin’s 14 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 (1867), 10th for career aces (128) and 21st for career assists (490) in Program history
* Alexis Stucky ranks 14th for career assists in Program history with 1705
Thoughts from Coach Wise
* “Tough situation for both teams and what we both went through this week, in particular Mississippi State and what they had to do travel wise. With all that’s going on in our state, we are just grateful we got to play the match.”
Hear from Alexis Stucky
On players coming back from injury having extra time in the gym due to the match being rescheduled…
* “We are certainly still figuring things out, so getting that extra time in the gym has been wonderful – Working on our connections, work on our matchups together, so it has been really helpful.”
Up Next
* The Gators conclude their four-match homestand on Sunday, hosting South Carolina. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center and can be watched on SEC Network+ with Tom Collett and Darrielle King on the call. Additionally, fans can listen on 98.1FM/850AM or follow @GatorsVB on socials for match updates as well as via live stats. Following the conclusion of Sunday’s match, fans in attendance will have the chance to take part in post-match mingle.
* Fans can purchase single-game tickets for the remaining matches. To purchase, click here<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/buy?id=NzEx>. For more information on football tickets, call the Gator Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683<tel:3523754683>.
No. 19 Florida vs. South Carolina
Sunday, Oct. 13 | 1 p.m. ET
Exactech Arena – Gainesville, Fla.
SECN+<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/c9954d68-9afa-4d42-9d9c-b094ea39174d> | Listen<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5496&type=Archive> | Live Stats<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=538168> | Tickets<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/en/buy/ism/VkIyNDEw>
Series Information
* Series Record 64-10 (56-4 under Wise)
* 3-set: 47-2; 4-set: 13-4; 5-set: 4-3
* Home: 33-1; Away: 29-7; Neutral: 2-1
* Last time out | W, 3-1 | H | 25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20
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>
