The Gators came back from a 1-2 deficit to defeat the Seminoles in five sets.
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/9/17/Box_Score.pdf>
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After trailing 1-2, the No. 16 Florida volleyball team fought their way back to defend their home court and beat No. 18 Florida State 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 21-25, 25-16, 15-6) on Tuesday night inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
The Gators tally their first ranked win of the season as well as their first five-set victory for an overall 7-2 record.
Freshman setter Taylor Parks recorded a career-high 56 assists to command Florida’s .346 hitting percentage, while picking up 10 digs in her second double-double match of her career.
Senior Gabrielle Essix had a strong return, posting a career-high 16 kills to hit.714 (16-1-21) in her first match of the season. Also making her return Tuesday night was sophomore All-American Kennedy Martin, who recorded 15 kills in her welcome-back match. Isabel Martin finished with a .367 hitting percentage to register 15 kills as well, while freshman Alec Rothe tallied 10 kills of her own. Additionally, fifth year AC Fitzpatrick added eight to Florida’s season-high 66 kills.
Libero Elli McKissock led Florida defensively with 18 digs, while totaling four assists. Besides the fifth-year libero and freshman setter, eight Gators recorded at least one dig in the five setter: K. Martin (7), Fitzpatrick (6), I. Martin (5), Canaan (5), Essix (1), Engel (1), Lee (1) and Rothe (1)
Parks tallied her second career-high of the night after dropping four aces, while Fitzpatrick, I. Martin and McKissock each added one ace to the stat sheet.
The Gators only had 5.0 team blocks compared to Florida State’s 11.0, but held the Seminoles to their third-lowest hitting percentage of the season, .245. Rothe led the way with three blocking assists for the Gators, while Fitzpatrick recorded Florida’s only solo block.
Records
No. 16 Florida (7-2, 0-0 SEC)
No. 18 Florida State (7-2, 0-0 ACC)
How It Happened
Set 1
* Florida was the first to five after an Isi Martin kill, but a topspin serve from Florida State’s Kenna Phelan gave the Seminoles a 9-7 lead. The in-state rival maintained the lead and went into the media timeout with a 15-11 advantage. Out of the break, the Gators benefitted off of Seminole serving errors and cut the gap to two (14-16). Florida State called a timeout in hopes to calm Florida’s momentum, but the back-to-back points from Fitzpatrick notched it at 20. A race to 25, both teams exchanged points until a kill by Rothe followed up with a Seminole attacking error secured the 25-23 set-one victory for the Gators. Overall, there were 10 ties and four lead changes in the opening set.
* Set 1 Team Stats | .394 Hitting % | 18 Kills | 16 Assists |11 Digs | 1 Ace | 0.0 Team Blocks
Set 2
* This time it was Florida State who was first to five, but the Gators kept within reach throughout the opening half of set two. Rothe, back in her middle-blocker position, had a 10-foot kill to cut the Seminole lead to one, and a solo block from Fitzpatrick evened the scores at 12. Attacks from Rothe and K. Martin pushed Florida to a 15-13 lead going into the media timeout, but Florida State responded with a 3-0 scoring run to gain a 16-13 lead. Following a Florida timeout, the Gators climbed their way back to tie it at 20, but serving and attacking errors helped the Seminoles grab a 22-20 lead. FSU was able to hold onto their lead and come away with a set-two victory. Their 14 kills and .333 hitting percentage contributed to their 25-22 win.
* Set 2 Team Stats | .179 Hitting % | 11 Kills | 11 Assists | 11 Digs | 1.0 Team Block | 0 aces
Set 3
* Tied at six, the two teams exchanged points until the Seminoles went up by four thanks to their aggressive serving. With the Gators trailing 11-15, UF inched back within one (14-15) after a side out from Parks and an ace from Fitzpatrick. Attacks from both Martins and Essix gave Florida their first lead since 6-5 and forced a Florida State timeout, with the Gators ahead 20-18. Out of the huddle, the Seminoles got the serve back and recorded an ace to make it 20-20 and force a Florida timeout. FSU’s block was strong in the closing moments of the third set, as they tallied three blocks in the final five points for a 25-21 win.
* Set 3 Team Stats | .303 Hitting % | 18 Digs | 15 Kills | 14 Assists | 2 Aces | 0.0 Team Blocks
Set 4
* The Gators came out with a new wave of energy at the start of set four and solidified an early 10-6 lead, thanks to a 4-0 scoring run behind Parks serve. Three-consecutive kills from Essix kept the momentum on Florida’s end and a block from Rothe and Fitzpatrick extended the lead to 15-9. The Seminole’s called their second timeout in hopes to regroup after Florida rose to an 18-11 lead. There was no stopping Florida’s aggressive serving, as Parks drops her third ace of the set to help take the match to five sets after the Gators secured the fourth set with a 25-16 victory.
* Set 4 Team Stats | .375 Hitting % | 15 Kills | 15 Assists | 13 Digs | 3 Aces | 2.0 Team Blocks
Set 5
* With the race to 15, an ace from McKissock forced Florida State to call a timeout after the Gators snagged a 6-3 lead. Out of the break, the Seminoles cut the gap to two, but a block from K. Martin and Rothe maintained UF’s three-point lead. A 3-0 scoring run thanks to both Martins made it 11-6 and forced another Florida State timeout. The Gators scored the next four points behind Emerson Hoyle’s serve to come away with the overall match win after taking the fifth set, 15-6.
* Set 5 Team Stats | .700 Hitting % | 7 Kills | 7 Assists | 2 Digs | 2.0 Team Blocks | 1 Aces
Notables
* Gabrielle Essix made her 2024 season debut as Florida’s starting middle blocker
* Florida picks up their first 2024 win against a top-25 opponent
* Three Gators set or tied their career highs:
* Gabrielle Essix: 16 Kills |
* Taylor Parks: 56 Assists | 4 Aces
* Alec Rothe: .600 Hitting Percent (Tied) | 1 Assist (Tied)
* Four players set or tied season highs:
* Kennedy Martin: 7 Digs
* Emily Canaan: 1 Assist (Tied)
* Erin Engel: 1 Dig (Tied)
* Alec Rothe: 1 Assist (Tied)
* Four Gators finished with double-digit kills:
* Gabrielle Essix: 16
* Kennedy Martin: 15
* Isabel Martin: 15
* Alec Rothe: 10
* Florida recorded two 2024 team highs:
* 66 Kills and 63 Assists
* Freshman setter Taylor Parks recorded her second double-double of her career, finishing with 56 assists and 10 digs.
* Kennedy Martin continues her streak of scoring 10 or more kills in every match she has played wearing the Orange and Blue
* Florida improves to 46-21 (39-7 under Wise) in the all-time series record against Florida State
* The Gators are now 8-8 against the Seminoles in five-set matches
* Florida moves to 27-6 vs. Florida State in Gainesville, Fla.
* UF evens to 1-1 in five-set matches during the 2024 season
* The Gators have won their last three home matches: Southern Indiana (Sept. 7), Ohio State (Sept. 8) and Florida State (Sept. 17)
Thoughts from Coach Wise
* “Another great Florida-Florida State battle with tremendous effort on both sides of the net. So proud of this team for what we have had to overcome to get this lineup on the court.”
Up Next
* Florida hosts North Texas and Buffalo this weekend to conclude nonconference play. The Gators welcome the Mean Green on Friday, Sept. 20 for another 7 p.m. match inside the O’Dome before hosting the Bulls on Sunday at 3 p.m.
No. 16 Florida vs. North Texas Broadcast Information
Date & Time: Sept. 20 | 7 p.m.
Watch: SEC+<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/49f146ff-4efb-4da4-b554-00a8311a3e42> | Follow: Live Stats<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=538163> | Radio: 98.1FM/850AM<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5487> | Tickets: FloridaGators<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/en/buy/ism/VkIyNDA1>
Series Information – No. 16 Florida vs. North Texas
Mean Green | 2024 season: 2-7, 0-0 The American
* This is the first meeting between the Gators and the Mean Green
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