The Gators’ .323 hitting clip was led behind AC Fitzpatrick’s 18 kills.
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/9/7/Box_Score_PDF.pdf>
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 10 Florida volleyball team held their opponent Southern Indiana to a 0.83 hitting percentage en route to a home-court sweep (25-21, 25-16, 25-19) on Saturday inside the O’Dome. The Gators move to 4-1 on the 2024 season and 2-0 in three-set matches.
Freshman Taylor Parks dished out 40 assists to command Florida’s .323 attacking clip. Florida finished with 44 kills, AC Fitzpatrick posted a team-high 18. The fifth-year hit .429 (18-3-35) for two individual season-highs and a new three-set high for Florida this season. Additionally, Four Gators contributed to five or more kills on the offensive end: Isabel Martin (8), Amaya Thomas (6), Jaela Auguste (5), Alec Rothe (5).
A force at the net, Florida finished the three-setter with 10 team blocks. Jaela Auguste posted a career-high seven blocks, while recording six block assists and one solo block in the win.
Elli McKissock captained the backline, finishing with 16 digs and recording one of Florida’s two aces in the sweep.
Records
No. 11 Florida (4-1, 0-0 SEC)
Southern Indiana (2-3, 0-0 Conference)
How It Happened
Set 1
* Florida gained an early 7-2 lead, but the Screaming Eagles rallied back to inch within one during the opening 10 points. Florida recorded two attacking errors and gave Southern Indiana a 12-10 lead. Moments later, momentum shifted after a block from Auguste and Fitzpatrick, and the Gators went into the media timeout leading 15-13. Although the set remained point-for-point, Florida never trailed again and came away with a 25-21win after back-to-back kills from Fitzpatrick. The Florida native tallied seven kills in the opening set. Overall, there were eight ties in set one.
* Set 1 Team Stats | .206 Hitting % | 15 Kills | 15 Assists | 12 Digs | 3.0 Team Blocks | 1 Ace
Set 2
* An 8-0 scoring run behind McKissock’s serve started set two with an 11-3 advantage. The Gators maintained a six-point lead thanks big blocks from the front row. Florida finished with five team blocks with five players contributing to at least one block assist. Southern Indiana tried to rally back and cut the deficit to four, but their attacking errors in the closing points helped Florida come away with a 25-16 win.
* Set 2 Team Stats | .286 Hitting % | 11 Digs | 10 Kills | 9 Assists | 5.0 Team Blocks | 1 Ace
Set 3
* The Screaming Eagles didn’t go away, as the two teams went point-for-point in opening rallies of the third set. Southern Indiana called a timeout to quiet Florida’s noise after back-to-back kills from Fitzpatrick. Following the break, Fitzpatrick posted two more kills and a solo block to extend the lead to 15-9, but Southern Indiana scored five of the next six points to make it 16-15 and force a UF timeout. Stepping up to the challenge, five different Florida players tallied a kill in the stat sheet to pull through with a 25-19 win to secure the Saturday sweep.
* Set 3 Team Stats | .471 Hitting % | 19 Kills | 19 Assists | 12 Digs | 2.0 Team Blocks
Notables
* Jaela Auguste’s 7.0 blocks is a new career-high
* AC Fitzpatrick recorded her third double-digit kill match this season and 19th of her Florida career
* Three Gators set new three-set season highs
* Jaela Auguste: 7 blocks
* Taylor Parks: 40 assists
* AC Fitzpatrick: 18 kills and .429 hitting percentage
* UF improves to 1-0 (1-0 under Wise) in all-time series against Southern Indiana
* The Gators are now 1-0 in three-set matches against the Screaming Eagles
* Florida now holds a 1-0 record against Southern Indiana in Gainesville, Fla.
* UF is now 2-0 in three-set matches during the 2024 season
Up Next
* The Gators host Big Ten’s Ohio State on Sunday in their third and final match of the Tournament. Action gets underway at 4 p.m. inside the Exactech Area inside the Stephen O’Connell Center.
No. 10 Florida vs. RV Ohio State
Sunday, Sept. 8 | 4 p.m. ET
11 Florida 4-1 | Ohio State 3-1
Exactech Arena – Gainesville, Fla.
ESPN2<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/a4970940-4ca0-40ac-88c9-45711e67fcc9> | Live Stats<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=538158> | Listen<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5481>
Series Information
Ohio State | 2024 season: 3-1, 0-0 Big Ten
* Florida leads series 3-1 (3-1 under Mary Wise)
* 3-set: 0-0 | 4-set: 2-0 | 5-set: 1-1
* Home: 2-0 | Away: 0-0 | Neutral: 1-1
* Last time out: 2020 | W 3-1 | Neutral | 25-20, 26-24, 23-25, 25-16
Tickets:
Sunday, Sept. 8: Regular Admission<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/en/buy/ism/VkIyNDAz>
Parking:
* Parking proceeds back to regular home-match protocol on Sunday. Gate 1 opens at 12:00 p.m., while fans can start entering through Gate 3 at 3 p.m.
Marketing Promotions:
* Sunday: Car flags for the first 500 season ticket holders at Sunday’s match and 250 autograph books, plus post-match mingle!
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