Merritt Beason leads the way offensively with 17 kills, followed by 14 from Marina Markova
Box Scorehttps://floridagators.com/documents/2022/9/25/sc12uf.pdf
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 12 Florida volleyball team dropped a tightly-contested, five-set battle to the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday afternoon at the Carolina Volleyball Center.
The Gators move to 10-3 on the year and 2-1 in conference play, while South Carolina improves to 7-5 during the 2022 campaign and 1-1 in the SEC.
Florida used a late charge to create distance in the first set, taking it 25-20. South Carolina responded with a 25-21 victory in the second, but the Gators answered right back with a 25-17 win in the third set. The Gamecocks forced a deciding fifth set with a 25-22 victory in the fourth and closed out the match with a 15-7 win in the final frame.
The Gators were balanced on the offensive front on Sunday afternoon, with Merritt Beason leading the way with her 17-kill performance.
Marina Markova added 14 kills on the afternoon, while Sofia Victoria posted a 10-kill effort. Bre Kelley tallied six kills to round out the main Gator scorers.
Alexis Stucky registered 42 helpers in the match, along with nine digs and three blocks.
The Gators totaled 12.0 blocks at the net, led by six from Kelley. Gabrielle Essix and Beason each registered five blocks in the match, while Stucky and Markova tallied three apiece.
In the backcourt, Elli McKissock tallied a team-high 14 digs, followed by nine from Stucky. Trinity Adams (7) and Beason (6) combined for 13 digs.
Beason also notched four aces behind the service line, tying her career-high mark.
The Gators are off from play until Oct. 5 when the team travels to Knoxville, Tenn. to take on the Tennessee Lady Vols. First serve is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
Records
No. 12 Florida (10-3, 2-1 SEC)
South Carolina (7-5, 1-1 SEC)
How It Happened
- The first set was a tight contest between the Gators and the Gamecocks, with neither team holding more than a two-point advantage until Florida pulled ahead 16-13 on a stellar block from Essix and Markova after the media timeout. The Gators continued to keep the Gamecocks at an arm’s length, pulling ahead as many as five at the 20-15 mark. South Carolina cut the deficit to three at 21-18, forcing Florida to use its first timeout. Out of that break, Florida notched back-to-back points to extend its lead back to four and then cruised to a 25-20 victory.
- The Gators hit .273 in the first set, while holding South Carolina to a .029 clip. Markova and Kelley each recorded three blocks apiece in the frame and Markova also led the way offensively with five kills.
- South Carolina held the early advantage in the second set, going ahead four at the 7-3 mark, but Beason answered with three-straight aces to knot the frame at 7-all. The Gamecocks went on a 5-2 spurt of their own, taking the 12-9 lead and forcing a Florida timeout. The Gators battled back to within one at 15-14, but South Carolina extended its lead to 17-14 after a 2-0 run. Florida once again showed no quit in the set, fighting its way out of the deficit to tie the frame at 20-20. The Gamecocks closed out the second with a 5-1 run, evening the match at 1-1.
- Kelley, Beason and Victoria each recorded a team-high two kills in the second set, while Kelley added three blocks.
- With Florida holding the one-point advantage at 6-5 to begin the third, the Gators extended their lead with a 4-0 run behind the serves of Beason. South Carolina pulled to within four at 14-10, but Florida was the team to take the five-point lead into the media timeout. Following the media break, the Gamecocks cut the UF lead to just two at 17-15 to force Florida to use its first timeout of the set. The Gators came out of that timeout and closed the set on an 8-2 run to take the 2-1 lead into set four.
- Florida held South Carolina to a -.033 clip in the third set and Markova (5) and Beason (3) combined for eight kills offensively.
- With South Carolina holding the 7-6 lead, the Gators went on a 3-0 run behind the serves of Kelley to regain the lead at 9-7. The Gamecocks battled back to take the 13-12 advantage, forcing a UF timeout. After the timeout, the teams began trading points until South Carolina pulled ahead two at the 22-20 mark. The Gators could not overcome the late deficit and fell 25-22.
- Beason posted a team-high six kills in the fourth set, followed by two apiece from Kelley, Markova and Victoria
- Florida took the early 4-2 lead in the final frame, but a 5-0 run by the Gamecocks gave South Carolina the 7-4 lead and forced a timeout by the Gators. Out of the break, South Carolina went on another 4-1 spurt, taking the 11-5 lead late in the fifth. The Gamecocks closed out the frame on a 4-2 run to secure the match.
- Beason posted a team-high four kills in the final frame.
Notables
- Merritt Beason tied her career-high with four service aces in the match
- The Gators are now 62-10 in the all-time series against the Gamecocks
- Florida is now 4-3 against South Carolina in five-set matches
- With her 14 digs in the match, Elli McKissock moved into 16th place in the Florida record book with 979 digs, surpassing both Caroline Knop (2016-17, 976) and Kris Bova (1998-01, 977)
Up Next
- The Gators have reached their bye week in the 2022 campaign, with the team not having another match until Oct. 5 at Tennessee
- That match is slated for a 7 p.m. start on ESPN2
FOLLOW FLORIDA VOLLEYBALL
FloridaGators.comhttp://floridagators.com/index.aspx?path=volleyball
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/GatorsVB
Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/gatorsvb/?hl=en
Coach http://www.twitter.com/GatorMary Mary Wisehttp://www.floridagators.com/coaches.aspx?rc=25 on Twitter | Coach http://instagram.com/gatormary Mary Wisehttp://www.floridagators.com/coaches.aspx?rc=25 on Instagram
Facebookhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Gator-Volleyball/154312757940308
