The Gators played in front of the second-largest volleyball home crowd in program history with 9,255 fans.
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/10/6/Texas_Box_Score.PDF>
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 18 Florida volleyball team fell in three sets to No. 7 Texas (23-25, 18-25, 14-25) on Sunday afternoon in front of a crowd of 9,255 inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The Gators move to 10-4 overall and 1-2 in SEC play.
Florida fans showed out on Sunday for the “Pack the Dome” match, setting the second-highest program attendance record with 9,255 fans in the stands of the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Florida remains the attendance leader in the SEC and No. 7 in the nation for average attendance (3,480). Since 2016, the Gators have led the Conference in attendance, while finishing in the nation’s top-10.
Attendance Record Chart
All-Time Top 10 O’Connell Center Volleyball Crowds
1. Wisconsin
9/17/23
10,323
1. Texas
10/6/24
9,255
1. Georgia
10/14/94
8,163
1. Texas
8/25/17
7,523
1. LSU
10/15/04
6,311
1. Stanford
9/4/94
6,204
1. Florida State
11/9/93
6,132
1. Penn State
9/10/10
6,022
1. Ole Miss
10/12/01
5,831
1. Arkansas
10/13/06
5,722
1. Stanford
9/4/19
5,665
*Bolded matches were after the O’Connell Center renovation in 2016
List of Top Volleyball Attendance Records for SEC Programs.
Top Volleyball Crowds ‐ SEC
School
Crowd
Date
Florida
10,323 vs Wisconsin
9-17-23
Kentucky
9,475 vs LSU
10‐29‐93
Missouri
7,879 vs Mississippi St.
11‐20‐13
TAMU
6,822 vs Texas
9-17-21
Texas
6,385 vs Nebraska
11-29-96
Oklahoma
3,702 vs Texas
11-11-22
Georgia
3,480 vs Georgia Tech
9-2-19
South Carolina
3,458 vs Clemson
8-25-18
Tennessee
3,375 vs Kentucky
10-27-21
Mississippi St
3,024 Southern Illinois
8-26-11
Arkansas
3,015 vs Florida
9-14-12
Auburn
2,492 vs Mississippi St.
11-1-19
LSU
2,316 vs South Carolina
9-21-17
Alabama
2,169 vs Auburn
11-21-14
Mississippi
1,251 vs Kentucky
9-29-22
Florida led the entire first set, until the defending National Champions went ahead in the closing moments and grabbed a 25-23 win. From there, Texas continued their momentum and had an answer for everything the Gators threw at them.
Florida recorded their lowest hitting percentage of the season with .146 (36-22-96). Sophomore All-American Kennedy Martin led the Gators in attacking for the sixth time this season, finishing with 12 kills for her 36th-consectuive match with double-digit kills. Redshirt senior Isabel Martin totaled eight of her own, while three Gators had five a piece: fifth year AC Fitzpatrick, freshman Jaela Auguste and redshirt sophomore Alexis Stucky.
Stucky had a team-high 23 assists, as the All-American setter finished just shy of her first season double-double after picking up eight digs.
The Gators backcourt saw a lot action on the defensive end with eight players totaling at least one dig. Libero Elli McKissock and Stucky both led the way with eight digs and K. Martin and freshman Bella Lee dug up five a piece. Isi Martin (3), Fitzpatrick (1), Canaan (1), and freshman Taylor Parks (1) combined for six.
UF finished with five team blocks on Sunday, with Isi Martin and freshman Alec Rothe both had three assists, while Stucky and Auguste both registered two. Texas finished with a season-high 13.0 team blocks.
Four Gators dropped an ace in the three setter: McKissock, K. Martin, Isi Martin and Stucky.
Records
No. 18 Florida (10-4, 1-2 SEC)
No. 7 Texas (9-3, 4-0 SEC)
How It Happened
Set 1
* An ace from Isi Martin started the opening points of the match on a high note. The teams exchanged points, but back-to-back blocks with Rothe in the middle, followed by a cross kill from Isi made the score 9-6. Two Texas errors extended Florida’s lead to 12-7, and the Longhorns called a timeout. Out of the huddle, Texas put together three points, but a 10-foot beat down by Auguste and an ace from K. Martin kept the Gator momentum for a 16-10 lead. Florida gained their biggest lead after Isi Martin recorded her second kill of the set and forced another Longhorn timeout. Out of the break, Texas kept the pressure, inching back within five to force a Florida timeout after 21-17. The Gators remained ahead, but back-to-back errors from Florida put Texas within one and Coach Wise called her second timeout with 22-21 on the scoreboard. The Longhorns grabbed the next two points out of the break to make it set-point Texas, but K. Martin kept Florida alive before Texas came back to take set one, 25-23.
* Set 1 Team Stats | .188 Hitting % | 13 Kills | 13 Assists | 13 Digs | 3.0 Team Blocks | 2 Aces
Set 2
* After trailing 0-3, the Gators inched back to earn a 7-6 lead after a Stucky ace. Texas settled back in, going on a 4-0 scoring run to regain a 11-7 lead. Fitzpatrick tallied a kill to attempt to get something going with 8-11 on the scoreboard, but Longhorns posted two blocks for a 15-9 lead heading into the media timeout. Out of the break, a block from Auguste and Isi Martin got the crowd to going, and back-to-back kills from the Germany native cut Texas’ lead to three. A dump over the net from Stucky kept the Gators within striking distance in the final points of the second set, as Florida called a timeout trailing 15-20. Out the huddle, the Longhorns pushed to 22-16 lead, but K. Martin kept the pressure with two kills of her own to keep the Gators alive. The Longhorns grabbed three points to take set two, 25-18.
* Set 2 Team Stats | .250 Hitting % | 12 Kills | 10 Assists | 1.0 Team Blocks | 1 Ace
Set 3
* The Gators came out with a 5-1 lead to force an early Texas timeout. Out of the huddle, the Longhorns regrouped and notched it up at seven after back-to-back blocks. The two teams exchanged points until Texas went on a 3-0 scoring run for a 13-10 lead. Out of a Florida timeout, K. Martin added another kill to the stat sheet, but aggressive serving from Texas pushed the points and went up by eight to force the Gators to use their second timeout, trailing 19-11. Out of the huddle, Florida responded with a block from Auguste and Stucky and an ace from Canaan to keep the fight, but it was not enough and Texas closed out the match with a 25-14 third-set win.
* Set 3 Team Stats | .028 Hitting % | 11 Kills | 11 Assists | 11 Digs | 1 Ace | 1.0 Team Block
Notables
* The Gators are now 15-11 (15-10 under Wise) in all-time series against the Longhorns
* Florida is now 3-5 in three-set matches against Texas
* The Gators move to 7-5 against the Longhorns in Gainesville, Fla.
* UF is now 5-2 in three-set matches during the 2024 season
* Florida is now 0-1 in matches during the month of October
* UF moves to 3-2 in Sunday matches
* Bella Lee set two career highs: 5 Digs | 2 Assists
* Kennedy Martin’s 12 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 (1,849), 10th for career aces (128) and 21st for career assists (487) in Program history
* Alexis Stucky ranks 14th for career assists in Program history with 1,657
* Taylor Parks ranks 26th for career assists in Program history with 418
Up Next
* Florida continues their four-match home stretch against Mississippi State on Wednesday, Oct. 9 inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. and can be watched on SECN+ as well as listened to on 98.1FM/850AM. Additionally, those not in attendance can follow @GatorsVB on socials for match updates or via live stats.
No. 18 Florida vs. Mississippi State
Wednesday, Oct. 9 | 7 p.m. ET
Exactech Arena – Gainesville, Fla.
SECN+<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/33c9e8b3-b794-44a5-a079-8d269a6ed4dc> | Listen<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5495> | Live Stats<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=538167> | Tickets<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/en/buy/ism/VkIyNDA5>
Series Information
* Series Record 55-2 (46-2 under Wise)
* 3-set: 50-0; 4-set: 4-1; 5-set: 1-1
* Home: 25-1; Away: 28-1; Neutral: 2-0
* Last time out | L, 1-3 | A | 18-25, 25-20, 25-27, 21-25
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>
