Florida’s balanced offensive attack lifted the Gators over the Tigers on Wednesday night
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2022/10/26/133293.PDF>
AUBURN, Ala. – The 14th-ranked Florida volleyball team swept the Auburn Tigers at Neville Arena on Wednesday night in a battle of two of the top three teams in the SEC.
The Gators improve to 16-4 in the 2022 campaign and 8-2 in the SEC, while Auburn moves to 18-3 on the year and 7-3 in league play.
Florida opened the match with a gutsy 25-23 victory and followed with a 25-18 win in the second set to go up 2-0 in the match. The Gators closed out the match with a 25-15 win in the third to take sole possession of first in the SEC.
UF’s offensive attack was incredibly balanced on Wednesday night – led by a 14-kill performance from both Merritt Beason and Sofia Victoria. Marina Markova followed closely with 11 kills of her own, while Bre Kelley added a five-kill effort.
Rookie setter Alexis Stucky led the Gators to a .363 clip on the night, while dishing out 37 assists in the process.
As a team, UF held Auburn to a .112 hitting efficiency on the night and totaled 8.0 blocks at the net. Gabrielle Essix posted a team-high five blocks, while Stucky added four and Beason pitched in three in the sweep.
Elli McKissock paced the backcourt defense for Florida, finishing the match with 14 digs. Stucky added six of her own, while Beason and Victoria recorded five apiece in the victory.
Behind the service line, UF finished with three aces – one apiece from Trinity Adams, Beason and McKissock.
The Gators are back in action for a two-match series against the Arkansas Razorbacks, beginning Saturday. Arkansas comes into the weekend with a 14-5 overall record and a 5-4 record in conference play. Saturday’s match is slated for a 1 p.m. start on SEC Network +, while Sunday’s matchup will begin at 12 p.m. on the SEC Network.
How It Happened
* The match opened with a highly-contested battle in the first set, with neither team holding more than a two-point advantage through the midway point. Auburn took the 15-14 lead into the media timeout, but after falling behind 17-15, Florida was able to knot the set at 17-all. The squads traded points from that point on, with the only difference maker being a final 2-0 run by the Gators to clinch the set at 25-23.
* Florida hit a stellar .556 in the first set, led by six kills apiece from Victoria and Markova. Beason added five kills of her own in the opening frame.
* After finding themselves down one at the 10-9 mark, the Gators went on a 3-0 run to pull ahead two. The Tigers responded with a short run of their own, knotting the frame at 12-12. Florida once again grabbed the slight advantage, taking the 15-13 lead into the media timeout. Out of the break, the Gators continued their momentum swing, pulling ahead seven at the 23-16 mark to force the second timeout of the frame by the Tigers. The Gators closed out the frame with a 25-18 victory to pull ahead 2-0 in the match.
* Florida held Auburn to a -.056 clip and notched six blocks in the second set, led by five from Essix and three from Stucky.
* The third set was all Gators from the start, with Florida jumping out to the 7-4 lead to force the first Auburn timeout of the frame. Out of that break, UF went on a 9-3 run to pull ahead 16-7 and cause the Tigers to utilize their second and final timeout. Auburn fought back to within at 16-10, but Florida cruised to the 25-15 victory in third to complete the sweep.
* Beason closed out the final set with six kills, followed by five from Victoria.
Notables
* With today’s victory, the Gators now hold sole possession of first place in the SEC with an 8-2 record
* With her 14 kills, Sofia Victoria notched her 10th match this season in double-digit kills
* With her 14 kills, Merritt Beason registered her 13th match this season in double-digit kills
* With her 11 kills, Marina Markova recorded her 14th match this season in double-digit kills
* The Gators are now 53-2 in the all-time series against the Tigers, including a 49-1 record under Mary Wise
* Florida is now 40-0 against Auburn in three-set matches
* UF improves to 25-2 against the Tigers in Auburn, Ala.
* The Gators are now 9-1 in three-set matches during the 2022 campaign
* With her 14 digs on the night, Elli McKissock moved into 14th place in program history, surpassing Angie McGinnis (1,067)
Thoughts from Coach Wise
* “There were so many pieces to this win and so many players really stepped up and played well tonight.”
Up Next
* The Gators are back in action for a two-match series against the Arkansas Razorbacks, beginning Saturday
* Arkansas comes into the weekend with a 14-5 overall record and a 5-4 record in conference play
* Saturday’s match is slated for a 1 p.m. start on SEC Network +, while Sunday’s matchup will begin at 12 p.m. on the SEC Network
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