No. 22 Florida volleyball defeated the Tigers 3-0 on Friday night to earn their six-straight win.
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/11/8/Box_Score_vs._Auburn.pdf>
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 22 Florida volleyball team picked up their sixth-consecutive win on Friday night after sweeping the Auburn Tigers 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-19) inside the O’Dome. The Gators improve to 8-3 in conference play and 17-5 overall.
Freshman setter Taylor Parks dished out 34 assists to captain Florida’s .427 hitting percentage. Sophomore All-American Kennedy Martin recorded 20 of the Gators 44 kills, marking her fourth-straight match that she has recorded 20 or more kills. Additionally, it is the most kills in a three-set match from an individual player this season.
Fifth year outside hitter AC Fitzpatrick and freshman middle blocker Jaela Auguste both finished with seven kills. Freshman middle blocker Alec Rothe followed with six of her own, while outside hitter Isabel Martin and Parks added a combined four to the Gators stat sheet.
The Gators held the Tigers to a .130 hitting clip, which marks Auburn’s lowest hitting percentage in conference play and second lowest of the season. Auguste led the way for Florida with five block assists, as four players contributed to at least one assists the team’s 6.0 total blocks: Isi Martin (3), Parks: (2), Rothe (1) and K. Martin (1)
In the backcourt, Libero Elli McKissock picked up 11 digs to finish in double digits for the eighth match in a row. Junior Emily Canaan and K. Martin tallied eight a piece, and Isi Martin finished with six. Fitzpatrick (4), Parks (2) and Rothe (2) recorded the remaining eight of Florida’s 41 digs.
Florida totaled six aces behind the service line. Parks posted her two aces in the first set, along with junior Emerson’s Hoyle’s one. Canaan, Isi Martin and McKissock recorded one ace as well in the three setter.
Records
No. 22 Florida (17-5, 8-3 SEC)
Auburn (14-9, 4-8 SEC)
How It Happened
Set 1
* After going back-and-forth at the start of set one, Rothe put one down to give Florida a 10-8 lead. From there, the Gators pushed the points for a five-point lead heading into the media timeout. Following the break, two attacks from Fitzpatrick extended the lead to 17-11. Two team errors allowed Auburn to inch back within four, but an ace from Hoyle kept Florida’s momentum heading into the final five points of the opening set. The Tigers called a timeout in hopes to regain control, but two aces from Parks and two kills from the Martin duo secured a 25-14 Florida win. K. Martin tallied a team-high six kills in the first set.
* Set 1 Team Stats | .560 Hitting % | 16 Kills | 15 Assists | 12 Digs | 3 Aces | 1.0 Team Blocks
Set 2
* Similar to the opening set, the two opponents traded points at the start of set two. Florida was able to grab a 9-5 lead and force Auburn to call a timeout. Out of the break, the Tigers went on a 3-0 scoring run to inch within one, but the Gators slowly broke away thanks to back-to-back kills from K. Martin for a 19-15 lead. Auburn called their second timeout in hopes to slow Florida’s momentum, but the home team remained in control the rest of the way to earn a 25-18 win. Auguste contributed to the Gators last four points, recording two kills and two block assists.
* Set 2 Team Stats | .357 Hitting % | 17 Digs | 16 kills | 15 Assists | 3.0 Team Blocks | 0 Aces
Set 3
* A 6-0 scoring run behind the serve of Canaan gave the Gators an early 12-5 advantage. Isi Martin kept things rolling for the home team with an ace to extend the lead to 17-8. The Tigers didn’t go away easily, scoring four-consecutive points to inch back within five. Following a Florida timeout, K. Martin and points from the middle blockers helped seal the sweep with a 25-19 third-set win.
* Set 3 Team Stats | .409 Hitting % | 12 Kills | 12 Assists | 12 Digs | 3 Aces | 2.0 Team Block
Notables
* Alec Rothe tied a career high of one Assist
* Kennedy Martin recorded a season-high .559 hitting percentage (20-1-34)
* Kennedy Martin’s 20 kills is a new individual three-set high for Florida
* Elli McKissock was the only Gator to finish in double-digit digs with 11
* Kennedy Martin was the only Gator to finish in double-digit kills with 20
* Florida improves to 55-3 (51-2 under Wise) in the all-time series record against Auburn
* The Gators move to 41-1 in three-set matches against the Tigers
* UF is now 27-1 in matches played against Auburn in Gainesville, Fla.
* Florida is now 8-3 in three-set matches during the 2024 season
* Gators sit 6-1 in Friday matches
* UF improves to 2-0 in November matches
* Kennedy Martin’s 20 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 (1,979), 9th for career aces (136) and 21st for career assists (516) in Program history
* Taylor Parks ranks 20th for career assists in Program history with 603
Thoughts from Coach Wise
* “Credit to the players who executed the game plan so well, especially behind the service line.”
Up Next
* The Gators homestand continues on Sunday, hosting Alabama at 1 p.m. inside the Stephen C. O’ Connell Center
* 1,000 volleyball blankets will be available for fans on Sunday upon entry at Gates one and three
* Sunday’s will be streamed live on SEC Network+ as well as can be heard on 98.1FM/850AM. Additionally, follow @GatorsVB on socials for match updates or via live stats, which can be found on volleyball’s schedule page on FloridaGators.com
No. 24 Florida (17-5, 8-3) vs. Alabama (10-11, 2-8 SEC)
Sunday, Nov. 10 | 1 p.m. ET
Exactech Arena – Gainesville, Fla.
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Series Information
* Series Record 53-0 (51-0 under Wise)
* 3-set: 49-0, 4-set: 4-0; 5-set: 0-0
* Home: 27-0; Away: 23-0; Neutral: 3-0
* Last time out | W, 3-0 | H | 25-23, 25-20, 25-22
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