The Gators finish the regular-season with an 21-7 record and 11-5 SEC record.
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/11/30/Georgia_Box_Score.pdf>
ATHENS, Ga. – Kennedy Martin registered her fourth double-double match of the season after recording 27 kills and 11 digs against Georgia, as the No. 18 Florida volleyball team fell in four (25-16, 21-25, 20-25, 23-25) on Saturday afternoon inside the Stegeman Coliseum.
The Gators conclude the regular-season campaign with an 21-7 record and 11-5 SEC record. Following the final week of conference play, Florida finished third in the league, with Kentucky taking sole possession of the SEC title.
Florida came out strong in the first set with a 25-16 win, but the Bulldogs serving helped them rally back to take the next three sets, 25-21, 25-20, 25-23, on their senior day.
12 Gators saw action on Saturday, with Martin leading the way offensively. The sophomore All-American finished with 30.0 points and a .412 hitting clip, while also adding six blocks to her stat sheet to. Additionally, Isabel Martin and Amaya Thomas had seven kills apiece, while Jeala Ausute (6), Lauren Harden (2) and Alec Rothe (2) tallied 10 of Florida’s 51 kills.
Taylor Parks dished out 42 assists to aid the offensive attack and finish just shy of a double-double with nine digs. The freshman also contributed three blocks and two aces to the Gators stat sheet. Alexis Stucky saw action as well, but in a different position. The 6’2 redshirt sophomore subbed in and played the role as an outside hitter during the third set.
The Gators posted 11 team blocks and held the Bulldogs to a .200 hitting percentage. K. Martin and Thomas posted six each, while Auguste added five of her own. Along with Parks’ three, Isi Martin and Harden tallied one block assists a piece.
In the backcourt, the Gators 54 team digs were led by Elli McKissock’s 16. Other than K. Martin’s 11 and Park’s nine, seven additional names contributed at least one dig: Isi Martin (8), Emily Canaan (3), Rothe (2), Thomas (2), Harden (1), Emerson Hoyle (1) and Trinity Adams (1).
The Bulldogs dropped a season-high 13 aces, while Florida totaled six. Parks led the way with her two and McKissock, Hoyle, Adams, and Isi Martin each finished with one.
Records
No. 18 Florida (21-7,11-5 SEC)
Georgia (12-14 6-10 SEC)
How It Happened
Set 1
* The Gators earned a 6-3 lead at the start of set one following a 4-0 serving run from McKissock. Georgia’s block allowed them to inch within one, but Isi Martin responded with back-to-back kills and a block from Parks and Thomas helped Florida gain a 12-7 lead. Out of a Bulldog timeout, the Gators tallied three of the next four points thanks to points from Thomas and K. Martin to make Georgia use their second timeout after falling behind by eight. A successful challenge from Coach Wise made it 18-8, but Georgia kept up a fight with a 4-0 scoring run to make it 18-12. Out of a Florida timeout, two kills from K. Martin and two from the middles pushed the Gators closer to set point. UGA dropped an ace, but UF’s .441 hitting percentage was too much to stop, as the Gators grabbed a 25-16 opening-set win. K. Martin had nine of Florida’s 18 kills in the first set.
* Set 1 Team Stats | .441 Hitting % | 18 Kills | 18 Assists | 12 Digs | 2.0 Team Blocks | 0 Aces
Set 2
* Georgia grabbed an early 4-2 lead, but Florida evened the score at five after a right-side attack from K. Martin. The two opponents exchanged points until an ace from Hoyle allowed the Gators an 8-6 advantage. The Bulldogs responded with a 4-0 scoring to grab an 11-9 lead, but a block and a kill from Thomas tied it back up 11. Back-to-back Georgia aces put the home team back in the lead, as Florida headed into the media timeout behind 13-15. Following the break, the Gators quickly used a timeout after falling to a 14-17 deficit, where the team regrouped and recorded back-to-back points to trail by one. A Georgia block regained a three-point advantage and the Bulldogs were able to come away with a second-set 25-21 win.
* Set 2 Team Stats | .241 Hitting % | 11 Kills | 11 Digs | 10 Assists | 2.0 Team Blocks | 2 Aces
Set 3
* A solo block from Thomas followed up with an ace from Parks gave Florida a 6-3 lead at the start of the third set, but Georgia came back and tallied four-straight points to notch it up at eight. Back-to-back blocks from Thomas, K. Martin and Auguste put the Gators back in the lead by two before the Bulldogs dropped two-consecutive aces to gain an 12-11 advantage. Out of a Florida timeout, a 10-foot beat down from Thomas allowed the Gators to inch within one, but UGA’s aggressive serving allowed the home team a three-point advantage and make Florida used their second timeout after falling to an 18-21 deficit. A backrow attack from K. Martin put Florida within two, but the Bulldogs were able to come away with a 25-20 third-set win.
* Set 3 Team Stats | .129 Hitting % | 14 Digs | 9 Kills | 9 Assists | 5.0 Team Blocks| 1 Ace
Set 4
* A Georgia serving error kick started a Florida scoring run including back-to-back Harden kills, a block from Auguste and K. Martin and an ace from McKissock to force an early Bulldog timeout after the Gators took an 8-4 lead. Out of the huddle, three kills from K. Martin made it 11-5, but Florida allowed the Bulldogs to rally back within two (11-9). Florida called a timeout to regroup, but tallied two errors for an 11-11 score. Adams capitalized off two Georgia errors with an ace to pull ahead to 14-11. Following a home-team timeout, the Bulldogs went on two different 4-0 scoring runs to take a 19-16 lead. A kill from Thomas allowed Florida to stay close, but Georgia pushed to a 21-17 lead heading into the closing moments. The Gators didn’t go down without a fight, as a successful challenge from Coach Wise and block from K. Martin and Thomas notched it at 22. Back-to-back points from UGA made it match-point for the home team, but K. Martin kept Florida alive with a kill before a Georgia kill secured the 25-23 fourth-set win.
* Set 4 Team Stats | .094 Hitting % | 17 Digs | 13 Kills | 12 Assists | 3 Aces | 2.0 Team Blocks
Notables
* Two players tied a career highs:
* Taylor Parks: 3 Blocks
* Amaya Thomas: 2 Digs
* Kennedy Martin recorded her fourth double-double match of the season after finishing with 27 kills and 11 digs
* Two Gators finished with Double-digit digs:
* Elli McKissock: 16
* Kennedy Martin: 11
* Florida is now 69-12 (66-4 under Wise) in the all-time series record against Georgia
* The Gators move to 15-4 in four-set matches against the Bulldogs
* UF sits 29-5 when playing Georgia in Athens, Ga.
* During the 2024 season, Florida is 9-2 in four-set matches
* The Gators are now 3-1 when playing on a Saturday
* UF is 6-2 in November matches
* Kennedy Martin’s 27 kills continues her streak of recording double-digit kills in every match she has played wearing the Orange and Blue (50 Matches)
* Elli McKissock ranks 2nd for career digs (2,102), 8th for career aces (143) and 21st for career assists (530) in Program history
* Taylor Parks ranks 19th for career assists in Program history with 794
* The Gators have won 20 or more matches in 33 of Mary Wise’s 34 years at the helm of Florida volleyball.
Up Next
* The Gators await their NCAA Tournament fate as the Selection Show is set to air Sunday night at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN. Fans interested in watching can find the streaming link here: NCAA Women’s Volleyball Selection Show (12/1/24) – Live Stream – Watch ESPN<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/9ffbba32-f63c-4989-b6b9-519b870fd792>
2024 NCAA volleyball tournament schedule
* Selection show: 6 p.m. ET Sunday, Dec. 1 on ESPN
* First and second rounds: Thursday, Dec. 5 through Saturday, Dec. 7
* Regionals: Thursday, Dec. 12 through Sunday, Dec. 15
* Semifinals: Begin at 6:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Dec. 19 on ESPN
* National championship: 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Dec. 22 on ABC
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