UF VB: Fort Fun! No. 11 Florida Sweeps Michigan State to Close out Rocky Mountain Road Trip

The Gators wrapped up opening-weekend action with a 3-0 win to remain perfect in the 2024 season.

Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/9/1/Michigan_State_Box_Score.pdf>

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The No. 11 Florida volleyball team tallied their first sweep of the 2024 season after defeating Big Ten opponent Michigan State, 26-24, 25-18, 25-17, on Sunday inside Moby Arena. The Gators return south with a perfect record still intact.

Freshman Taylor Parks commanded Florida’s offense to a .361 hitting clip in Sunday’s win, as the Gators posted 47 kills in the three setter. Florida rounded out opening weekend action with a .317 average hitting percentage, thanks to the Clearwater, Fla. native’s assistance.

For the second-consecutive match, Isabel Martin lead the team with 16 kills to conclude her opening debut in the Orange and Blue. AC Fitzpatrick awoke on Sunday, posting 12 kills to record a .360 hitting clip.

Freshman duo – Alec Rothe and Jaela Auguste – recorded eight and six kills, respectfully. Amaya Thomas (3) and Parks (2) added a combined five to Florida’s stat sheet.
Rothe posted a career-high six blocks, while Florida’s nine team blocks held the Spartans to a .206 hitting percentage. Thomas finished with five for a career high of her own.

Elli McKissock captained the backend of the court, recording 18 of Florida’s season-high 43 digs. Parks added seven, with six of players also contributing: Fitzpatrick (5), Emily Canaan (4), Martin (4), Trinity Adams (2), Rothe (2) and Emerson Hoyle (1)

Additionally, McKissock led the way in serving, dropping two aces with no errors on Sunday. Adams, Canaan and Hoyle all added an ace as well.

Records
No. 11 Florida (3-0, 0-0 SEC)
Michigan State (1-2, 0-0 Big Ten)

How It Happened
Set 1

* A kill from Martin tied it up at eights in the opening set, and an ace from Hoyle gave Florida a one-point lead. Michigan State’s block was strong in the start, as the Spartans were the first to the halfway mark, 15-14. After a kill from Rothe, both teams exchanged points until back-to-back aces forced a Florida timeout after trailing 18-20. With the race to 25 drawing near, Florida came out of the break and tied it up at 20. A Florida service error and a kill from Michigan State caused the Gators to call another timeout, trailing 21-23. Two-consecutive kills from Fitzpatrick notched it at 23, and the Spartans huddled in hopes to calm the Gators’ momentum. Another AC kill followed up with a block from Auguste clinched the set-one win, 26-24. Overall, there were 16 ties and eight lead changes.
* Set 1 Team Stats | .333 Hitting % | 15 Kills | 15 Assists | 11 Digs | 2 Team Blocks | 1 Ace

Set 2

* Florida started with a 6-3 lead thanks to an ace from McKissock and kills from all three fronts – Rothe, Martin and Auguste. Michigan State closed the gap and tied it up at eight, but Rothe and Thomas posted back-to-back points to regain a 10-8 lead. An ace from Adams put Florida up 14-10 and forced Michigan State to use its first timeout. Out of the break, Auguste had a block and a kill, which was followed by ace from Canaan. The series forced the Spartans to call another timeout after falling behind, 17-11. It was all Gator for the remainder of set two, as back-to-back blocks from Rothe and Thomas extended the lead to 22-15. One final kill from Fitzpatrick secured the win, 25-18.
* Set 2 Team Stats | .355 Hitting % | 14 Kills | 13 Digs | 12 Assists | 4 Team Blocks | 3 Aces
Set 3

* The Gators fell to an early 6-1 deficit and called an early timeout to regroup in set three. A block from freshman duo, Rothe and Auguste, was then followed up by a veteran solo block from Fitzpatrick to regain control. Florida closed the gap and made it 5-6, as Michigan State called a timeout. Back-to-back kills from Parks and Martin gave UF their first lead of the set, and a block from Martin and Thomas put Florida ahead, 12-9. Following the Spartans second timeout, a 10-foot beat down by Fitzpatrick continued Florida’s momentum. A solo block from Auguste and an ace from McKissock extended the Gators lead to five. A kill from Thomas sealed the match sweep after Florida claimed set three, 25-17. The Gators held Michigan State to a .179 hitting clip in the final set.
* Set 3 Team Stats | .389 Hitting % | 18 Kills | 17 Assists | 19 Digs | 3 Team Blocks | 1 Ace
Notables

* Florida finished the opening weekend of 2024 play with 147 kills, 135 assists, 113 digs, 27 blocks, 24 aces, and a .317 hitting percentage.
* Four players either set or tied their career highs:
* Jaela Auguste: 1 Solo Block | .625 Hitting % | 6 Kills (Tied)
* Taylor Parks: 7 Digs
* Alec Rothe: 6 Blocks | 2 Digs
* Amaya Thomas: 5 Blocks
* Isabel Martin’s 16 kills marks her third-consecutive double-digit match, while AC Fitzpatrick’s 12 kills is her first double-digit finish this season.
* Elli McKissock’s 18 digs marks her second, 97th career, double-digit match
* UF improves to 3-0 (3-0 under Wise) in all-time series against Michigan State
* The Gators are now 2-0 in three-set matches against the Spartans
* Florida now holds a 1-0 record against Northern Colorado in neutral-site play
* UF is now 1-0 in three-set matches during the 2024 season
Up Next

* The Gators welcome South Florida, Southern Indiana and Ohio State to Gainesville for the Florida Invitational from Friday, Sept. 6 through Sunday, Sept. 8. Ohio State and Southern Indiana kick off the three days of play on Friday at 4 p.m. ET with Florida and USF following at 7 p.m. ET. The Gators and Southern Indiana will go head-to-head for the first time on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, with Ohio State and USF at 6 p.m. ET. The Invitational concludes on Sunday, with Southern Indiana and USF playing at 1 p.m. ET before the Gators and Ohio State compete against each other at 4 p.m. All matches will be played inside the Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Sunday’s match against Ohio State will be aired on ESPN2, while all other matches can be followed via live stats.

No. 11 Florida vs. South Florida
Friday, Sept. 6 | 7 p.m. ET

11 Florida 3-0 | South Florida 0-3

Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center – Gainesville, Fla.
Live Stats: StatsBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=538160>

* Series Information
South Florida | 2024 season: 0-3, 0-0 American Athletic

No. 11 Florida vs. Southern Indiana
Saturday, Sept. 7 | 4 p.m. ET

11 Florida 3-0 | Southern Indiana 2-1

Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center – Gainesville, Fla.
Live Stats: StatsBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=538161>

* Series Information
Southern Indiana | 2024 season: 2-1, 0-0 Ohio Valley

* Saturday’s matchup marks the first time the two programs will face eachother.

No. 11 Florida vs. Ohio State
Sunday, Sept. 8 | 4 p.m. ET

11 Florida 3-0 | Ohio State 2-0

Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center – Gainesville, Fla.
Live Stream: ESPN2 <https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/a4970940-4ca0-40ac-88c9-45711e67fcc9> | Live Stats: StatsBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=538158>